1698.1 

IP881 


PRACTICAL 

House  Painter 


By  AN  EXPERT 


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PRACTICAL 
HOUSE  PAINTER 


Including  Carriage,  Sign  and  House  Painting, 
and  Valuable  Hints  and  Recipes 
for  Same. 


By  AN  EXPERT. 


PUBLISHED  BY 

SHREWSBURY  COMPANY, 
CHICAGO  and  SAN  FRANCISCO. 


IV 


Index. 


PAGE. 

Dry  Ochre  for  Priming 2 

Estimating  Work 14 

Enameled  Letters,  to  Apply  to  Glass 95 

Furniture  Varnish 91 

Fire-proof  Paint  for  Poofs 86 

Fluoric  Acid,  to  Make 132 

Gold  Varnish * 90 

Guessing  on  Work 8 

Glass,  to  Crystalize 93 

Gilding  on  Glass 8 

Gilding  on  Wood .^T. 38 

-Grease  Spots,  to  Kill 34 

Hard  Wood  Floors,  to  Finish 33 

Hard  Putty 121 

Japan,  Testing 19 

Kalsomine  34 

Kalsomine,  to  Make  and  Apply. 121 

Liquid  Wood  Fillers 133 

Lacquers  for  Brass  and  Tin 91 

Leather  Varnish  (black)  91 

Lead  Poisoning  and  Symptoms 53 

Liquid  Glue 93 

Lamp  Black,  to  Mix 87 

Liquid  Glue  for  Kalsomine  and  Wall  Sizing 123 

Measuring  a Job 17 

Mahogany  Stain 44,  45 

Midsummer  Painting  . . 67 

Marking  Ink 146 

Natural  Wood  Finishing 47 

Old  Carriage  Work 140 

Oil  Size  for  Old  Whitewash 37 

Old  Wall,  to  Prepare  for  Paint.  124 

Oak  Stain,  dark. 45 

Oil  Pubber  Paint  for  Cloth 83 

Plastered  Wall,  to  Paint 127 


Index. 


j 


Paste  to  Hold  Labels  on  Tin 

Paint  to  Prevent  Hotting  under  Ground 

Paint,  to  Hemove . 

Paper  Hanger’s  Outfit  

Price  List  and  Measurement 

Paint,  to  Clean 

Porcelain  Finish 

Paper  Hanger’s  Paste 

Putty,  to  Soften 

Putty,  to  Color 

Paste  for  Painted  or  Varnished  Walls. 

Hust  Spots  on  Marble 

Hed  Saunders  Stain 

Bed  Wood  to  Finish 

Rough  Stuff 

Hough  and  Sandy  Walls 

Sizing  Walls 

Sign  Painting 

Scaled  Work,  to  Repaint 

Sixteenth  Century  Oak 

Spots  on  Paint 

Sandpapering  

Oak  Wood  Stain 

Stencil  Border 

Spirit  Varnishes . . . , 

Size  Muslin  for  Lettering 

Slowing  the  Drying  of  Paint 

Stir  Your  Paint 

Stencil  Ink  (black)  

Signs  on  Colored  Glass. 

Strainers 

Silver,  to  Clean  

Stencil  Staining 

Success  in  Painting 

Symptoms  of  Lead  Poison 


v 

PAGE. 

. . . 31 

. . . 82 
. . . 35 

. ..  91 

. . . 62 
. . . 84 

. . . 52 

. . . 92 

. ..  18 
. ..  50 

. . . 93 

. ..  145 
. . . 45 

. ..  145 
. ..  142 
. ..  129 
. . . 94 

99,  117 
. ..  77 

. . . 55 

. . . 50 

...  76 

. ..  94 

. ..  77 

88,  90 

. . . 78 

. . . 85 

. ..  41 

. ..  144 
. ..  131 
. . . 34 

. . . 35 

. ..  26 
...  7 

. ..  55 


vi  Index. 

PAGE. 

Tin  Roofs,  to  Paint 2 

Tents,  etc.,  to  Make  Weather-proof 32 

Tacky  Paint,  to  Cure. 18 

Tortoise  Shell,  to  Imitate 61 

Varnish  to  Fix  Pencil  Drawings 145 

Varnish  to  Imitate  Ground  Glass 60 

Varnish  for  Rustic  Work 61 

Varnish  'Stains 44 

Varnished  Paint,  to  Clean 85 

Very  Dirty  Brass,  to  Clean 61 

Wax  Polish 26 

Whitewash,  to  Softea 145 

Water  Glass  for  Floors 145 

Walnut  Stain 44 

White  Hard  Spirit  Varnishes 89 

Walnut,  to  Stain  Like  Mahogany 46 

Water  Colors,  to  Mix 78 

White  Shellac,  to  Make 49 

White  Enamel 60 

Wall  Sizing  for  Kalsomining 97 

Why  Do  Wall  Papers  Crack 36 

Whitewash  for  Outside 33 

Wax  Floor  Finish 88 

Zinc,  to  Clean. 38 

Zinc,  to  Paint  on 32 


PRACTICAL 
HOUSE  PAINTER. 


The  following  is  an  infallible  and  simple  commercial 
test  of  the  purity  of  white  lead: 

“Take  a piece  of  firm,  close-grained  charcoal,  and  near 
one  end  of  it  scoop  out  a cavity  about  half  an  inch  in 
diameter  and  a quarter  of  an  inch  in  depth.  Place  in  the 
cavity  a sample  of  the  lead  to  be  tested,  about  the  size  of 
a small  pea,  and  apply  to  it  continuously  the  blue  or  hottest 
part  of  the  flame  of  the  blow-pipe;  if  the  sample  be  strictly 
pure  it  will,  in  a very  short  time,  say  in  two  minutes,  be 
reduced  to  metallic  lead,  leaving  no  residue;  but  if  it  be 
adulterated,  even  to  the  extent  of  ten  per  cent  only,  with 
oxide  of  zinc,  sulphate  of  baryta,  whiting  or  any  other  car- 
bonate of  lime  (which  substances  are  the  principal  adulter- 
ations used)  or  if  it  be  composed  entirely  of  these  materials, 
as  is  sometimes  the  case  with  cheap  lead  (so-called),  it  can- 
not be  reduced,  but  will  remain  on  the  charcoal  in  an 
infusible  mass. 

“A  blow-pipe  can  be  obtained  from  any  jeweler  at  small 
cost.  An  alcohol  lamp,  star  candle,  or  a lard  oil  lamp 
furnishes  the  best  flame  for  use  of  the  blow-pipe.  This 
test  is  very  simple  and  any  one  can  very  soon  learn  to  make 
it  with  ease  and  skill.” 


2 


Practical  House  Painter. 


JAPAN. 

Always  cut  your  japan  (in  a little  turps  before  you 
add  it  to  the  paint.  An  ounce  of  japan,  cut  with 
turps,  will  do  better  work  than  two  ounces  in  oil 
paint,  if  put  in  clear.  Don't  add  dryer  to  any  more 
paint  than  you  can  use  up  in  a few  hours,  because  it 
will  soon  commence  to  fatten  your  paint  in  the  pot 
and  lessen  its  covering  and  wearing  properties.  Many 
a job  has  been  spoiled  by  using  old  color,  doped  with 
japan.  Such  paint  is  liable  to  mildew. . 

OBJECTIONS  TO  THE  USE  OF  CHEAP  DRY  OCHRE  AS  A 
PRIMER. 

1st.  It  is  too  dark  for  light  colored  work,  because 
sooner  or  later  it  will  show  through  in  spots,  or 
darken  the  entire  work. 

2d.  It  leaves  a rough,  coarse  surface  which  the 
succeeding  coats  fail  to  completely  level  up. 

3d.  Succeeding  coats  are  liable  to  scale  from 
cheap  coarse  ochre  priming. 

PAINTING  TIN  ROOFS. 

When  paint  scales  from  a tin  roof  it  is  not  always 
the  fault  of  the  paint.  It  stands  the  painter  in  hand 
to  carefully  examine  a new  tin  roof  before  painting 
it.  When  the  tinner  uses  rosin  as  a flux  to  make  his 
solder  flow,  the  rosin  is  melted  and  cools  again  on  the 
tin.  When  such  is  the  case,  carefully  scrape  it  off 
with  a knife,  otherwise  it  will  be  liable  to  scale  off, 
and  take  the  paint  with  it. 


Practical  House  Painter. 


3 


When  acid  is  used  in  the  place  of  rosin  it  is  apt  to 
corrode  the  tin,  hence  it  is  best,  if  you  want  a per- 
manent job,  to  clean  off  the  acid.  To  do  this,  first 
rub  the  seams  with  kerosene  oil,  then  wash  with  soap 
suds  and  rinse  with  clean  water.  If  the  roof  is  quite 
new,  and  the  tin  feels  greasy,  go  over  it  with  a wash 
t made  of  one  pound  of  sal-soda  to  six  quarts  of  water, 
let  it  stand  one-half  day ; then  wash  the  tin  with  clear 
water. 

Instead  of  this  method,  I have  given  new  tin  a 
good  rubbing  with  No.  1 sandpaper  to  make  it  hold 
the  paint. 

ANALYSIS  OF  OCHRE. 

Below  is  an  analysis  of  a sample  of  French  ochre, 
which  is  about  the  average  of  that  pigment: 


Parts . 

Hydrated  oxide  of  iron .42 

Alumina  20 

Silica  38 


The  oxide  gives  the  color ; the  parts  as  given 
above  are  in  the  right  proportion  to  give  the  most 
stable  color  and  durable  body  to  be  found  in  ochre. 

Here  is  an  ochre,  which  was  ground  in  a linseed 
oil  substitute,  and  sold  to  the  trade  at  four  cents  per 
pound  in  twenty-five  pound  cans,  and  retailed  tq  the 
painter  at  seven  cents  per  pound  in  cans,  to-wit : 

Parts. 


Barytes  58 

Whiting  15 

Oxide  of  iron,  silicate  and  alumina 24$ 

Chrome  yellow 2$ 


4 


Practical  House  Painter. 


This  so-called  ochre  could  be  ground  in  one-half 
the  oil  it  would  take  to  grind  yellow  ochre. 


ANOTHER. 

Parts . 


Poor  chrome  yellow 8 

Ochre  .25 

Whiting  67 


Ground  in  snide  oil,  and  sold  to  jobbers  at  five 
cents  per  pound,  to  painters  eight  and  ten  cents. 


ANOTHER. 

Parts . 

Barytes  62.90 

Ochre  40.00 

Barytes  is  not  ochre,  and  this  was  sold  as  pure 
ochre. 

ANOTHER. 

Sold  as  French  ochre,  and  recommended  for  prim- 


ing: 

Parts. 

Oxide  of  iron,  alumina. 19.79 

Silica  40.93 

Whiting 11.57 

Barytes  26.64 

ANOTHER  IN  OIL. 

Parts 

Chrome  yellow 12 

Whiting  25 

Barytes  63 

Oil  13 

The  markets  are  flooded  with  such  imitations  of 
ochre,  both  dry  and  in  oil.  The  quantity  of  oil 


Practical  House  Painter. 


5 


required  to  grind  pure  French  ochre  makes  it  high- 
priced,  hence  there  is  a motive  for  putting  up  barytes, 
which  takes  but  little  oil  in  grinding. 

YELLOW  IRON  ORE. 

Much  of  the  so-called  dry  ochre  on  the  market  is 
a yellow,  iron  ore  and  not  yellow  ochre . When  mixed 
in  oil  and  put  on  a tin  roof  it  will  turn  brown  inside 
of  ninety  days.  I presume  you  have  had  experience 
with  such  stuff.  This  makes  a bad  primer ; it  is  very 
liable  to  scale. 

CRAWLING  PAINT. 

When  paint  crawls  it  is  because  there  is  not  suf- 
ficient adhesion  between  the  undercoat  and  the  new 
coat,  caused  usually  by  too  much  gloss  on  the  under- 
coat. To  prevent  crawling  subdue  the  gloss  on  the 
undercoat  by  sandpapering,  rubbing,  or  by  the  ap- 
plication of  some  material  which  will  have  the  de- 
sired effect;  or,  if  on  the  outside,  wait  until  the 
gloss  has  been  subdued  by  the  elements.  There  is 
nothing  more  trying  to  one’s  patience  than  to  have 
the  paint  let  go  and  crawl  up  in  bunches  after  it  ha« 
been  carefully  brushed  out.  Hence,  it  is  well  to  pro- 
vide against  such  trouble  in  advance.  The  observing 
painter  has  no  doubt  noticed  that  paint  is  more 
liable  to  crawl  under  cornices,  and  upon  other  shel- 
tered positions,  than  elsewhere;  hence,  it  is  best  in 
all  such  sheltered  places,  where  the  elements  do  not 


Practical  House  Painter. 


have  full  play , to  use  sufficient  turpentine  to  prevent 
a high  gloss  on  the  undercoats. 

TO  PAINT  BLINDS  AND  NOT  DAUB  YOUR  HANDS. 

First,  have  a stick  to  open  and  shut  the  slats  with 
after  you  commence  to  paint.  Second,  leave  a place 
on  each  stile,  or  side  rail,  half  way  between  the 
hinges,  six  or  eight  inches  long,  unpainted,  except  to 
cut  in  the  edge  next  the  end  of  the  slats  to  take  hold 
of  when  you  turn  the  blind  over  or  set  it  aside;  also 
leave  the  bottom  hinge  unpainted.  After  you  have 
set  up  the  blind  hold  it  up  by  the  unpainted  hinge 
until  you  finish  the  stiles ; then  lean  it  up  against  its 
support  and  touch  up  the  hinge.  In  this  way  you 
need  get  no  more  paint  on  your  hands  than  you 
would  in  painting  a door.  No  time  will  be  lost, 
because  you  can  touch  up  the  stiles  in  less  time  than 
it  would  take  to  wipe  your  hands  and  brush  handle. 

LEGLESS  STEP-LADDERS. 

Step-ladders  without  legs  for  outside  work  are 
good  things  to  have  on  the  job.  Say,  three  of  them, 
6,  8 and  10  feet  long.  A man  of  good  height  can 
paint  14  feet  high  from  the  10-foot  ladder.  They  are 
much  easier  on  the  feet  than  a “round”  ladder.  You 
can  stand  straighter  and  reach  farther  when  standing 
on  a step  than  you  can  while  trying  to  balance  on 
a round* stick;  besides,  a step  is  a handy  place  to  set 
your  pail  on. 


Practical  House  Painter. 


7 


SUCCESS  IN  PAINTING. 

Painting  don’t  pay,  eh?  No  wonder  it  don’t  pay, 
because  here  you  are  spending  half  your  time  growl- 
ing. The  facts  in  the  case  are,  “You  are  not  up-to- 
date.”  If  there  is  no  possibility  of  making  money 
at  the  trade,  how  is  it  that  your  competitor  gets  along 
so  well?  Why  is  it  that  he  accumulates  and  you 
lose  ? He  goes  into  the  same  market  for  labor,  ma- 
terial and  jobs  that  you  do.  He  comes  out  every 
fall  with  his  pockets  full,  and  you  round  up  poor  as 
a church  mouse.  There  must  be  a screw  loose  some- 
where in  your  management.  Will  I point  one  out? 
Certainly,  we  have  always  been  friends,  and  I can 
never  do  too  much  for  a friend.  In  the  first  place 
you  are  too  impetuous.  You  forget  for  the  time  that 
bills  for  labor  and  material  will  fall  due,  that  you 
must  live — and  you  take  the  job  at  losing  figures. 
You  ought  to  realize  that  the  success  of  a contracting 
painter  depends  upon  his  business  qualifications. 
To-wit:  Correct  and  careful  estimates,  coolness  in 
bidding,  care  in  selecting  materials  and  men,  sys- 
tematizing his  work  so  as  to  keep  each  man  in  the 
right  place.  I don’t  know  how  much  you  are  get- 
ting for  this  job,  but  it  looks  to  me  that  you  are 
losing  money  every  day  by  using  poor  material  and 
improper  handling  of  your  men.  The  good  business 
man  prefers  the  strictly  pure  Dutch  process  white 
lead  to  the  adulterated  brands.  He  uses  pure  lin- 


8 


Practical  House  Painter. 


seed  oil  instead  of  adulterated  mixtures  and  imita- 
tions of  it,  and  he  never  loses  sight  of  the  fact  that  a 
good  reputation  is  a mine  of  gold  to  him.  If  he  finds 
a man  is  a good  hand  on  a ladder  or  swing  stage  he 
keeps  him  there,  and  if  he  finds  a man  an  expert  at 
inside  work  he  keeps  him  there,  and  if  he  finds  a man 
is  a poor  stick  in  any  place  he  lets  him  go,  rush  or  no 
rush.  If  he  has  high  work  he  provides  a safe  and 
easy  way  to  get  there.  If  he  has  inside  work  his 
step-ladders  are  equal  to  the  work.  He  knows  when 
a man  has  to  reach  too  far  or  stand  on  top  of  a lad- 
der he  can’t  half  work.  Learn  to  manage  your 
men,  to  keep  the  right  man  in  the  right  place.  Stop 
making  ruinous  bids.  Open  your  eyes  to  the  fact 
that  a man  who  makes  a losing  bid  on  a job,  to  beat 
his  competitor,  acts  like  an  idiot,  and  is  meaner  than 
flies  in  paint. 

GUESSING  ON  WORK. 

The  practice  of  estimating  work  by  guess  has 
brought  many  a painter  up  with  a round  turn  in  the 
fall  in  debt.  The  curious  part  of  it  is  that  the  les- 
son is  rarely,  if  ever,  learned.  Don’t  be  too  smart. 
Guessing  on  work  is  very  uncertain  business. 

GLASS  GILDING. 

A practical  expert  in  an  English  journal,  the 
“Plumber  and  Decorator,”  gives  the  following  as  his 
process  acquired  and  tested  by  many  years’  experi- 
ence. 


Practical  House  Painter. 


9 


The  tools  and  materials  required  for  glass  gilding 
are  the  same  as  used  for  gilding  in  oil,  excepting  the 
gold  size?  Oil  gold  size  would  never  do  for  glass 
work.  In  glass  gilding  the  object  is  to  get  a size  or 
mordant  which  will  have  the  least  possible  tendency 
to  destroy  or  mar  the  burnish  of  the  gold  leaf.  This 
is  absolutely  necessary,  when  we  consider  that  in  this 
kind  of  work  the  size  is  before  the  gold,  not  as  in  oil 
gilding — behind  it.  For  a mordant  nothing  can  be 
better  than  the  best  isinglass.  To  prepare  this  for 
use  the  utmost  care  and  cleanliness  should  be  exer- 
cised. The  water  must  be  quite  pure — free  from 
grease  or  impurities  of  any  kind.  In  preparing  the 
size  the  following  may  be  relied  upon  as  a first-class 
recipe : Boil  about  one  pint  of  water  in  a perfectly 
clean  pan.  Should  any  scum  rise  during  the  opera- 
tion remove  it  with  a large  spoon.  Then  add  about  ^ 
as  much  isinglass  as  will  lie  on  a dime  to  the  boiling, 
water.  This  is  best  done  a little  at  a time  to  pre- 
vent it  gathering  in  a mass  before  it  has  a chance  of 
dissolving.  When  the  isinglass  is  dissolved  strain  the 
size  through  a fine  silk  handkerchief,  folded  double 
or  fourfold,  or,  better  still,  through  some  white  blot- 
ting paper.  This  straining  or  filtering  will  remove 
any  bits  or  impurities  that  may  have  lodged  unper- 
ceived in  the  isinglass.  When  cool  the  mordant  is 
ready  for  applying  to  the  glass.  Some  gilders  like 
to  add  spirit  in  some  form — generally  spirits  of 
wine — to  their  size.  Their  reasons  for  doing  this  are 


10 


Practical  House  Painter. 


not  always  very  explicit.  Some  do  it  because  they 
have  seen  others  do  it.  Others  add  it,  thgy  say,  to 
give  the  gold  a better  burnish,  or  to  make  it  better 
adhere  to  the  glass.  This  is  a delusion.  The  most 
sensible  reason  for  its  use  was  imparted  to  me  by  a 
veteran  in  the  trade.  He  used  spirits  of  wine  to 
take  out  or  kill  any  slight  greasiness  that  may  have 
been  in  the  water  or  isinglass.  I must  confess  that 
until  I learned  this,  spirits  always  formed  part  of  my 
mordant,  because  others  used  it.  However,  on  fur- 
ther consideration,  its  use  has  been  discarded,  and, 
if  anything,  a better  burnish  on  the  gold  is  the  re- 
sult. In  making  the  size  it  must  be  borne  in  mind 
that  the  less  isinglass  used  the  brighter  will  be  the 
gilding  when  completed.  Of  course,  if  too  little 
be  used,  the  gold  will  not  adhere  to  the  glass  as  it 
should,  and  this  would  cause  much  damage  and  an- 
noyance when  the  isinglass  size  was  floated  on  again 
to  proceed  with  the  second  gilding.  When  the  size 
is  too  strong,  or  contains  too  much  isinglass,  no 
amount  of  burnishing  will  remove  it  altogether  from 
before  the  gold.  These  are  important  points  and 
should  be  carefully  studied.  But  a little  practice 
soon  teaches  the  gilder  how  to  arrive  at  the  happy 
medium. 

There  are  a variety  of  purposes  to  which  orna- 
mental glass  gilding  may  be  applied  besides  sign 
work,  shop  fronts  or  glass  doors.  It  is  now  much 
used  for  show  cases,  window  tablets,  druggists’  bot- 


Practical  House  Painter, 


ii 


ties,  fixtures  and  pilasters  for  shop-fronts.  Very 
often  the  design  is  embossed  or  bit  into  the  glass, 
and  worked  up  with  gold  and  silver  leaf,  besides  be- 
ing picked  out  in  colors.  This  is  both  a costly  and 
effective  method  of  decorating,  which  shall  have  full 
consideration  in  a future  chapter.  For  the  present 
it  will,  no  doubt,  be  advisable  to  consider  the  simpler 
form  of  glass-gilding.  When  this  is  thoroughly  un- 
derstood very  little’ further  instruction  is  needed  for 
high-class  work. 

For  the  sake  of  example  we  will  suppose  a glass 
slab  about  three  feet  six  by  twelve  inches  is  the  sub- 
ject to  be  treated.  This  is  to  have  black  letters  with- 
out thickness  or  shadow  on  a gold  ground.  There 
are  two  methods  of  doing  this.  One  is  to  first  paint 
on  the  glass  the  letters  with  japan  black  and  after- 
wards gild  the  plate.  The  other  consists  in  first 
gilding  the  plate  solid  and  then  painting  in  the 
background  with  japan  black.  By  this  method  the 
lettering  is  left  untouched.  The  gold  on  these  is 
then  washed  off,  the  edges  trimmed,  and  the  letters 
themselves  painted  black  or  any  other  desired  color. 
This  latter  is,  perhaps,  the  most  satisfactory.  How- 
ever, a few  lines  of  explanation  will  be  devoted  to 
each  process. 

First  in  order  comes  a plate,  the  letters  on  which 
are  painted  with  japan  black  previous  to  gilding. 
To  the  learner,  no  doubt,  the  plain  block  letters  will 
prove  an  attraction,  because  of  their  simplicity.  This 


12 


Practical  House  Painter. 


should  be  set  out  correctly  on  a sheet  of  lining  paper. 
It  will  only  be  necessary  to  run  in  an  outline  of 
the  letters.  When  completed  to  the  satisfaction  of 
the  operator  it  may  be  pasted  round  the  edges  and 
fixed  on  the  face  of  the  glass.  The  back  of  the 
glass,  that  is  the  side  upon  which  the  work  is  done, 
should  be  quite  clean.  When  the  plate  is  fixed  on  an 
easel  or  stand,  which  is  the  most  convenient  place 
for  working,  the  letters  will,  of  course,  read  back- 
wards. In  this  form  they  must  be  painted.  When 
quite  dry  and  hard,  should  the  outlines  of  the  let- 
ters be  irregular,  they  may  be  set  right  in  a very 
simple  manner.  All  that  is  required  to  accom- 
plish this  is  a metal  straightedge  and  a sharp 
quarter  inch  joiner’s  chisel.  The  straightedge  is  laid 
across  the  tops  and  bottoms  of  the  letters  and  the 
chisel  is  employed  to  cut  them  sharp  and  true.  The 
sides  of  the  straight  letters  are  then  similarly  treated ; 
curves  must  be  perfected  with  a writing-pencil.  The 
paper  may  now  be  taken  from  the  face  of  the  glass 
and  the  plate  examined  all  over.  Should  any 
specks  of  black  be  found  on  it  they  must  be  re- 
moved before  the  gilding  is  gone  on  with.  The 
smallest  speck  shows  up  before  the  gold-leaf.  If 
convenient,  before  gilding,  have  the  plate  fixed  at 
an  angle  of  about  45  degrees.  While  in  this  posi- 
tion take  a flat  gilder’s  mop  and  float  the  isinglass 
size  over  the  glass.  Then  take  up  the  cushion,  take 
out  a few  leaves  of  gold  from  the  book,  and  whilst 


Practical  House  Painter. 


13 


the  glass  is  wet  cover  it  with  gold,  lifting  the  gold 
from  the  cushion  as  described  in  the  last  chapter. 
If  possible  lift  a whole  leaf  at  once,  but  should 
this  at  first  prove  troublesome  try  half  a leaf.  Keep 
the  glass  wet  with  the  size  and  overlap  slightly  each 
successive  leaf  of  gold  until  the  whole  of  the  glass 
is  covered. 

The  glass  must  now  dry  before  it  can  be  re- 
gilded, and  must  then  be  gently  rubbed  with  the 
finest  cotton  wool.  It  is  an  easy  matter  to  ascer- 
tain whether  it  is  dry  or  not.  When  wet  the  gold, 
if  looked  at  from  the  front  of  the  glass,  has  a dead 
look,  but  if  dry  it  shows  up  bright.  If  possible 
leave  the  plate  till  next  day  before  giving  it  a sec- 
ond coat  of  gold.  The  advantage  of  this  delay  is 
obvious.  The  gold  has  time  to  get  hard,  which  ma- 
terially reduces  the  risk  of  its  being  removed  when 
a second  application  of  size  is  necessary. 

To  the  novice  it  will,  no  doubt,  appear  at  first  sight 
both  a waste  of  time  and  gold  to  gild  all  over  the 
work  again,  but  if  the  plate  be  held  up  to  the  light 
it  will  show  many  imperfections  in  the  shape  of 
small  holes,  cracks  and  imperfect  joinings.  An- 
other coat  of  size  floated  on  and  another  layer  of 
gold  over  the  whole  of  the  work  should  turn  out 
a so  far  satisfactory  finish.  Let  the  glass  dry 
again  and  be  subjected  to  a further  examination  for 
faulty  places.  Should  any  be  found  cover  them 
with  more  gold.  But  if  the  work  is  satisfactory  it 


14 


Practical  House  Painter. 


is  ready  for  the  burnishing  process.  The  first  stage 
is  to  polish  the  gold  by  gently  rubbing  with  fine  cot- 
ton wool,  care  being  taken  not  to  scratch  the  gold. 
This  is,  of  course,  only  a repetition  of  the  polishing 
after  the  first  layer  of  gold. 

There  are  several  methods  in  general  use  for  ob- 
taining that  brilliant  burnish  so  much  admired  in 
glass  gilding.  But  the  one  that  meets  with  most 
favor  and  success  is  what  is  called  the  “hot  water 
burnish.”  It  will  be  advisable  to  practice  on  the 
glass  under  consideration.  After  the  cotton  wool 
polishing  is  completed  warm  the  glass  either  by  hold- 
ing it  before  a fire  or  gently  pouring  warm  water  over 
it.  This  is  only  a precaution  against  breakage  by 
sudden  expansion.  Now  let  it  dry,  and  while  warm 
polish  again  with  the  cotton  wool.  Bepeat  the  pour- 
ing of  water,  hotter  than  the  last,  and  when  the 
glass  is  dry,  after  this  operation,  gently  rub  it  again 
with  cotton  wool.  This  hot  water  flushing  should 
be  carried  on  until  the  burnish  is  quite  satisfactory. 
But  it  must  be  very  carefully  done,  else  the  gold  runs 
a risk  of  being  washed  off  in  patches. 

HOW  TO  ESTIMATE  WORK. 

Measure  your  work  with  the  tape-line  and  be  sure 
you  get  all  there  is  in  it;  projections,  depressions, 
mouldings,  edges,  etc.  - 

Many  a painter  has  dropped  his  profits  by  not 
taking  in  these  little  particulars.  Every  bead,  sunken 


Practical  House  Painter. 


15 


or  raised  panel  makes  an  edge  to  paint.  The  edges 
of  ordinary  weather  boarding  add  ten  per  cent . to 
the  surface,  to  say  nothing  of  the  edges  of  the  cor- 
ner boards  and  window  and  door  casings — the  pro- 
jections and  depressions  in  the  panels  of  an  ordinary 
four-paneled  door,  add  at  least  ten  per  cent,  to  the 
surface  to  be  painted.  Then  let  me  say  to  you 
again,  look  closely  for  edges,  projections,  depressions, 
hollows  and  rounds.  They  all  count  when  you  paint 
them;  and  it  is  your  fault  if  they  are  not  included 
in  the  estimate.  When  you  have  multiplied  the  num- 
ber of  feet  around  a house  by  the  average  height  and 
reduced  it  to  yards  you  have  only  made  a start. 
Measure  the  cornice,  follow  the  hollows,  rounds  and 
edges  with  the  line.  There  is  lots  of  surface  in 
mouldings.  The  tape-line  is  good  as  far  as  you  can 
make  it  go,  but  it  can't  do  it  all.  You  must  use 
judgment  in  connection  with  it;  and  carefully  esti- 
mate the  condition  of  the  work,  what  per  cent,  is  slow 
to  paint,  or  high  and  difficult  to  reach.  For  instance, 
what  is  the  condition  of  the  surface,  is  it  porous  and 
full  of  cracks?  Is  every  joint  gaping  for  putty?  Is 
the  putty  on  the  windows  rough  and  broken?  Is 
the  old  paint  cracked,  blistered  and  scaling?  Is  the 
cornice  ornamented  with  dentils,  brackets  and 
panels?  You  may  lose  a day  or  a week  of  extra  time 
on  a high  tower  or  cupola  if  you  fail  to  put  it  into 
your  estimate  as  extra  hard  to  reach.  Make  the  price 
accordingly.  Are  the  blind-slats  stuck  fast  and  dif- 


16 


Practical  House  Painter. 


% 

Acult  to  paint  ? Is  the  work  to  be  done  in  the  busy 
season  when  labor  and  material  are  high  priced  and 
good  men  are  hard  to  get ; or  in  the  dull  season,  when 
dealers  will  cut  prices  and  gopd  men  are  hunting 
for  work?  Bidding  on  specifications  must  be  done 
with  care.  You  can  figure  the  number  of  yards  to 
be  painted,  but  there  are  many  points  which  the  com- 
pleted job  can  alone  disclose.  A provision  in  your 
contract  to  cover  all  changes  in  specifications  comes 
mighty  handy  on  the  day  of  final  settlement.  It  is 
not  safe  to  make  anything  like  a close  bid  on  speci- 
fications, until  the  following  questions  have  been  set- 
tled and  put  in  your  contract.  To-wit:  Will  the 
building  be  delivered  to  you  at  a specified  time,  fin- 
ished and  cleaned  out  and  put  in  good  condition  for 
the  painter ; or  will  you  be  expected  to  commence  be- 
fore fhe  work  is  finished  and  paint  as  the  work  is  put 
up,  and  spend  as  much  time  dusting  and  sweeping 
as  you  do  at  painting?  Will  the  machine-dressed 
lumber,  including  mouldings,  doors,  window-stops, 
etc.,  be  put  in  as  it  comes  from  the  factory  rough  and 
fuzzy,  or  will  it  be  redressed  and  made  smooth  and 
ready  for  the  paint?  These  points  may  look  to  you 
like  small  matters,  but  they  count  when  you  come  to 
paint  the  work.  If  you  are  to  do  a fine  job  stipulate 
in  your  contract  that  the  wood-work,  etc.,  shall  be 
finished  in  good  shape.  If  you  are  to  paint  the  work 
as  you  find  it  have  it  so  stated  in  your  contract.  Paste 
this  motto  in  the  top  of  your  hat  and  read  it  often : 


Practical  House  Painter.  17 

“It  is  always  better  to  lose  a job  than  to  get  it  and 
lose  money  on  it.” 

Two  houses  may  be  of  equal  dimensions,  yet  it 
may  be  worth  50  per  cent,  more  to  paint  one  than  the 
other;  hence  any  definite  scale  of  prices  for  work  by 
the  yard  is  liable  to  be  misleading.  We  may  deter- 
mine by  the  line  how  much  there  is  of  the  work,  but 
we  must  rely  upon  our  judgment 'and  experience  to 
determine  how  much  it  will  cost  to  do  it. 

ONE  WAY  TO  MEASURE  A JOB. 

Find  the  surface  measure  of  the  entire  job,  in- 
cluding all  edges  and  projections,  and  estimate  how 
much  it  is  worth  per  yard,  on  the  basis  that  it  is  all 
plain  work,  easy  to  get  at.  Next  we  will  proceed  by 
what  we  may  call  special  measurement.  Suppose  the 
cornice  measures  60  yards,  and  is  finished  with 
blocks,  moulded  panels  and  brackets,  and  we  estimate 
that  the  cost  of  painting  it  will  be  three  times  that 
of  a plain  cornice,  hence  we  will  add  two  measures 
or  120  yards  to  the  general  or  first  measurement. 
Next,  suppose  each  window  and  casing  measures 
three  yards,  and  there  are  20  of  them  to  be  trimmed 
in  colors,  we  estimate  the  work  of  painting  them 
double  that  of  plain  work;  hence  we  add  to  our 
special  measurement  60  yards.  If  there  is  a cupola 
high  and  difficult  to  reach  we  estimate  that  it  will 
be  worth  double  the  cost  of  painting  ordinary  work 
to  do  it.  Say,  it  measures  50  yards,  we  will  add 


18 


Practical  House  Painter. 


50  yards  to  the  general  measurement,  and  so  we  will 
go  on  until  we  have  taken  in  all  parts  of  the  work 
which  will  cost  more  than  ordinary  plain  work. 

To  illustrate:  The  building  measures  600  yards, 
and  as  plain  work  we  estimate  it  worth  twenty  cents 
per  yard  to  paint  it.  We  amount  our  special  meas- 
urement which  we  will  say  adds  up  to  300  yards, 
which  added  to  the  600  yards  general  measurement, 
makes  900,  which  at  twenty  cents  per  yard,  makes 
$180.  The  same  system  may  be  used  inside. 

TO  SOFTEN  HARD,  LUMPY  PUTTY. 

Break  the  putty  into  lumps ; put  it  in  a kettle  with 
enough  water  to  cover  it ; add  a little  raw  oil,  and  boil 
and  stir  well  while  hot.  The  putty  will  absorb  the 
oil ; pour  off  the  water,  let  the  putty  cool,  .then  work 
it,  and  your  putty  will  be  as  good  as  new. 

TACKY  PAINT  ON  CHURCH  SEATS,  ETC. 

During  my  experience  as  a painter,  I have  been 
called  upon  to  repaint  tacky  seats  in  at  least  half 
a dozen  churches.  Such  seats  are  an  unmitigated 
nuisance.  Tacky  paint  may  be  the  result  of  putting 
too  much  japan  in  oil  paint,  or  of  using  fat  oil,  or 
paint  which  had  been  mixed  a long  time,  especially 
if  it  had  very  much  japan  in  it,  or  by  mixing  oil  and 
varnish,  or  by  putting  varnish  on  oil  paint,  especially 
if  the  paint  had  not  been  given  time  to  dry  hard 
before  it  was  varnished.  To  harden  tacky  paint  try 


Practical  House  Painter. 


19 


this:  Take  one  part  japan  and  three  parts  of  tur- 
pentine, and  give  the  work  a coat  of  the  mixture. 
That  will  usually  effect  a cure,  unless  the  paint  is 
soft  clear  to  the  wood.  A coat  of  shellac  will  some- 
times do  the  work  all  right.  Such  seats  usually 
seem  all  right  until  warmed  by  the  heat  of  the  body ; 
hence  we  may  be  satisfied  .that  the  fault  is  in  the 
oil  used  in  the  paint  or  varnish.  It  is  best  on  that 
account  to  use  but  little  if  any  oil  when  painting 
seats  of  any  kind.  Coat  up  with  color  ground  in 
japan  and  thinned  with  turps ; varnish  the  part  which 
comes  in  contact  with  the  body  with  shellac  varnish. 

I have  painted  seats  this  waj^,  and  never  heard  of 
any  further  trouble  with  them. 

To  repaint  tacky  seats  the  best  way  is  to  burn  off 
the  old  paint,  and  coat  up  as  above ; because,  if  a hard 
drying  paint  is  put  over  the  old  soft  paint  it  is  liable 
to  crack.  It  is  well,  however,  to  see  if  the  turpentine 
and  japan  will  work  a cure,  or  if  a coat  of  shellac 
will  stop  the  trouble.  To  do  this  it  is  well  to  first 
experiment  on  one  seat,  or  upon  a small  surface. 

I have  killed  tacky  paint  by  rubbing  it  with  a 
cloth  wet  with  ammonia;  when  dry,  try  it,  and  see 
if  the  “tack”  is  gone ; if  not,  go  over  it  again ; when 
dry,  put  on  a coat  of  shellac  varnish ; this  is  a pretty 
sure  cure. 

TESTING  JAPAN. 

If  japan  smells  of  benzine  don’t  buy  it.  Mix  it 
with  clear  oil ; if  it  curdles,  you  don’t  want  it.  Mix 


20 


Practical  House  Painter. 


drop  black  with  some  of  it;  as  stiff  as  good  drop 
black  ground  in  japan;  then  thin  with  turps  and 
make  a painting  test,  to  see  if  it  is  a good  binder. 
To  see  if  it  will  crack,  paint  on  glass,  let  it  dry  and 
hold  the  glass  between  your  eye  and  the  light.  If 
you  see  fine  cracks  don’t  buy  any  of  it. 

When  you  go  to  buy  japan,  ask  the  dealer  who 
made  it.  If  he  don’t  know,  make  up  your  mind  at 
once  that  it  is  a fatherless  waif  without  a name, 
and  likely  to  be  worthless.  When  a man  makes  a 
good  thing  he  is  apt  to  send  his  name  along  with  it ' 
as  an  advertisement.  This  applies  to  all  material. 
There  is  a great  deal  of  bad  japan  on  the  market, 
and  a great  amount  of  work  ruined  by  it.  Buy 
none  unless  it  bears  the  brand  of  a reputable  maker 
and  will  stand  these  tests. 

I do  not  need  to  tell  the  practical  painter  that  there 
is  a great  amount  of  bad  japan  on  the  market,  and 
that  a great  deal  of  paint  is  ruined  by  it.  Buy  no 
japan  unless  the  can  bears  the  name  of  some  reputa- 
ble manufacturer,  and  will  stand  the  above  tests. 

WHY  DO  PAINTS  AND  VARNISHES  CRACK? 

The  following  paper  was  read  by  Mr.  A.  P.  Sweet, 
of  Iona,  Mich.,  at  a meeting  of  master  car  painters : 

subject : 

“Why  do  paints  and  varnishes  crack,  and  what  is 
the  reason  that  cracks  in  the  latter  are  usually  at 
right  angles  to  the  grain  of  the  wood?” 


Practical  House  Painter. 


21 


The  subject,  as  I understand  it,  relates  to  the 
cracking  of  varnishes,  etc.,  as  experienced  in  connec- 
tion with  passenger  car  work,  and  as  such  I introduce 
it  for  discussion  before  this  association. 

There  are  many  theories  as  to  the  cause  of  the 
cracking  of  paints  and  varnishes.  Some  are  well  de- 
fined, others  are  not  satisfactorily  explained. 

I do  not  anticipate  being  able  to  add  much  to  what 
is  already  known,  but  will  advance  a few  thoughts, 
which  may  call  forth  the  views  of  others  on  the  sub- 
ject. 

The  old  adage,  “It  takes  two  to  make  a quarrel/5 
is  as  true  when  applied  to  paints  and  varnishes  as  it 
is  to  individuals.  A single  coat  of  either  seldom,  if 
ever,  produces  cracks.  These  make  their  appearance 
only  after  two  or  more  coats  have  been  applied ; con- 
sequently, it  is  necessary  to  have  a body  of  color  or 
varnish,  consisting  of  two  or  more  coats,  before  any 
trouble  of  this  kind  makes  itself  manifest. 

This  being  the  case,  it  follows  that  the  cause  of 
the  difficulty  must  be  sought  for  in  the  coatings 
themselves,  either  in  the  quality  of  the  material 
employed  or  in  the  mode  of  applying  them. 

Poor  and  cheap  oils  and  japans— especially  the 
latter — are  a fruitful  source  of  cracking  in  paint; 
but  by  far  the  most  prolific  one,  in  my  opinion,  is 
the  hurried  application  of  the  succeeding  coats  before 
the  preceding  ones  are  dry  enough  to  receive  them. 


22 


Practical  House  Painter. 


If  sufficient  time  is  not  given,  cracks  will  inevitably 
follow  such  a mode  of  procedure 

I am  of  the  opinion,  also,  that  very  little  blame 
can  be  attached  to  the  wood  used  in  the  construction 
of  cars,  as  most  of  it  is  comparatively  well  seasoned, 
and  its  expansive  and  contractive  force  is  not  suffi- 
cient to  cause  serious  trouble.  If  green  wood  was 
used  there  might  be  room  for  this  excuse,  especially 
where  the  cracks  run  in  the  direction  of  the  grain, 
and  are  large  and  deep. 

Before  pursuing  this  subject  further,  it  may  be 
well  to  examine  a little  into  the  theory  of  the  drying 
of  paint.  It  is  purely  a chemical  process,  not  a me- 
chanical one,  as  some  suppose.  Paint  dries  by  the 
evaporation  of  its  volatile  parts  and  its  absorption 
of  oxygen;  it  is  heavier  when  dried  than  when  in 
the  liquid  form,  having  attached  to  itself  a sufficient 
amount  of  oxygen  to  very  perceptibly  increase  the 
weight  some  6 per  cent. 

The  best  grades  of  linseed  oil  are  said  to  contain 
from  70  to  80  per  cent  of  substance  called  linoleine, 
a resinous  and  slow-drying  oil  and  acid  which  im- 
parts to  the  oil  its  elasticity.  / 

In  the  process  of  drying,  contraction  occurs.  The 
various,  atoms  of  which  the  coatings  are  composed 
move  closer  and  closer  together;  and  as  this  con- 
tracting force  is  easier  with  than  across  the  grain, 
cracks  at  right  angles  to  it  are  formed.  This  fact 
suggests  the  necessity  of  so  adjusting  the  elasticity 


Practical  House  Painter. 


23 


of  the  various  coats  that  the  force  exerted  in  drying 
may  be  as  nearly  equalized  as  possible,  as  their  con- . 
tracting  force  is  continued  until  all  elasticity  has  left 
the  paint  and  oxygen  ceases  to  be  absorbed,  all  the 
oil  acid  has  disappeared,  and  nothing  but  a hard, 
brittle  surface  remains. 

Under  the  microscope,  in  the  first  stage  of  crack- 
ing, the  surface  presents  nothing  unusual  except  that 
the  cracks  appear  clean  cut%and  sharp  on  the  edges. 
As  months  pass  by  and  the  surface  is  exposed  to  the 
atmospheric  changes  of  heat  and  cold,  wet  and  dry, 
the  cracks  become  more  numerous ; and  in  the  last 
stage,  when  the  oil  is  entirely  destroyed,  the  surface 
assumes  the  appearance  of  innumerable  rectangular 
masses,  higher  in  the  center  than  at  the  edges,  like 
small  mounds  raised  by  the  process  of  contraction 
and  adhesion. 

Cracking  in  color  coats  may,  by  careful  attention 
to  preliminaries,  be  reduced  to  a minimum,  pro- 
vided good  first-class  materials  are  used  and  sufficient 
time  is  given  to  each  coat  to  dry. 

Where  varnish  is  to  be  applied  as  a finish,  all  coat- 
ings should  have  oil  in  their  composition  and  yet  be 
mixed  to  dry  flat.  They  should  be  applied  very 
evenly  and  thinly,  even  if  it  necessitates  an  extra 
coat,  to  cover  and  make  a solid  job. 

Striping  and  ornamenting  should  be  done  on  flat 
color,  which  gives  time  for  hardening,  and  fits  it  for 


24 


Practical  House  Painter. 


the  varnish  coats  to  follow.  If  work  is  done  in  this 
way,  I think  very  little  fear  of  premature  cracking 
need  be  entertained;  at  least,  not  until  time  and 
weather  have  sufficient  opportunity  to  play  havoc  with 
its  beauty,  and  natural  decay  of  the  materials  them- 
selves necessitates  a thorough  overhauling  and  repair- 
ing. 

Rubbing  varnishes  are  another  source  of  trouble, 
causing  the  succeeding  coats  of  finishing  varnish  to 
show  signs  of  cracking  long  before  they  otherwise 
would,  as  it  does  not  agree  with  the  slower  drying 
varnishes  usually  applied  above  it,  being  of  a harder 
and  more  brittle  character,  serving  the  purpose  of 
producing  a fine,  smooth  surface,  but  sacrificing  the 
durability  of  the  job. 

Concerning  the  cracking  of  varnish,  I have  not 
much  to  say.  It  seems  to  me  that  many  of  the  rea- 
sons given  above  will  apply  to  it  as  well  as  to  the 
paint. 

Poor  material  in  the  shape  of  varnish  is  poor  in- 
deed. A first-class  article  only  will  give  first-class 
results. 

It  must  be  elastic,  or  it  will  crack  easily  and  badly, 
no  matter  how  good  the  under  coats  of  paint  may  be. 

Good  varnish  on  good  color  coats  will  not  give 
any  signs  of  cracking  until,  by  repeated  varnishings, 
it  has  accumulated  a thick  coating  of  brittle,  unelas- 
tic gum. 


Practical  House  Painter. 


25 


No  painter  can  say  truthfully  that  his  cars  never 
crack,  as  it  is  a natural  consequence  of  decay,  and 
will  come,  sooner  or  later,  to  the  best  of  material. 

That  varnish  cracks  to  a great  extent  at  right 
angles  to  the  grain  of  the  wood,  I think  is  due,  in 
some  degree,  to  the  same  reasons  as  given  above  for 
the  cracking  of  paint,  and  after  its  elasticity  is  de- 
stroyed by  age.  Vibration  has  a great  effect  upon 
the  hard  and  brittle  coating  of  gum  that  remains, 
coupled  with  expansion  and  contraction  caused  by 
variations  of  temperature  and  the  disintegrating  in- 
fluences of  the  weather. 

BRUSH  CLEANING  TROUGH. 

To  make  such  a trough,  take  a piece  of  planed 
board,  6 inches  wide  apd  18  inches  long,  and  nail  on 
side  pieces  2 inches  wide;  this  makes  the  trough. 
NaiHhis  trough  on  a bench,  box,  or  table,  and  let  one 
end  of  it  project  over  the  edge  of  the  bench,  box  or 
table,  and  place  your  slush  bucket  under  the  project- 
ing end  of  the  trough.  To  clean  a brush,  lay  it  in 
the  trough,  keep  hold  of  the  handle  with  one  hand 
and  with  the  other  take  a dull  scraper  and  press  the 
paint  out  of  the  brush  and  shove  it  off  into  the  slush- 
bucket.  The  advantage  of  this  method  is  that  you 
clean  the  whole  length  of  the  brush  and  save  the 
paint,  instead  of  daubing  it  on  the  walls  of  youx 
shop. 


26 


Practical  House  Painter. 


FLOOR  WAX. 

A good  preparation  for  waxing  floors  may  be 
obtained  as  follows : 


Yellow  Wax 25  oz. 

Yellow  Ceresin 25  oz. 

Burnt  Sienna 5 oz. 

Boiled  Linseed  Oil 1 oz. 

Turpentine  1 gill 


Melt  the  wax  and  ceresin  at  a gentle  heat,  then 
add  the  sienna  previously  well  triturated  with  the 
boiled  linseed  oil,  and  mix  well.  When  the  mixture 
begins  to  cool  add  the  oil  of  turpentine,  or  so  much 
of  it  as  is  required  to  make  a mass  of  the  consistence 
of  an  ointment. 

The  burnt  sienna  may  be  used  in  smaller  or  larger 
quantity,  according  to  the  tint  desired,  or  may  be 
replaced  by  raw  sienna,  etc. 

0T 

DAMAR  VARNISH. 

Never  use  damar  varnish  over  oil  paint. 

Never  put  oil  in  damar  varnish.  See  to  it  that 
your  dealer  does  not  draw  it  into  an  oil  measure,  and 
that  you  do  not  keep  it  in  an  oily  or  rancid  can. 
Why?  Because  it  is  liable  to  dry  tacky  under  any 
of  the  above  conditions. 

STENCIL  STAINING. 

Ordinary  plain  staining  can  be  done  by  almost  any 
one  who  can  handle  a common  paint  brush.  Yet  it 
is  not  generally  known,  even  to  skilled  decorators, 
that  stain,  on  sound  white  wood,  evenly  planed,  can 


Practical  House  Painter. 


27 


be  applied  to  imitate  the  most  intricate  of  artistic 
designs;  such,  however,  is  the  case.  A decorator 
if  asked  to  imitate  in  stain  on  white  wood  a piece  of 
parquetry  or  inlaid  wood,  might  reply  that  such  a 
thing  was  impossible,  alleging  as  a reason  that  by 
employing  liquid  stain  in  the  same  way  as  a distem- 
per— that  is  to  say,  by  the  aid  of  a stencil  to  repro- 
duce the  pattern — the  stain,  as  soon  as  it  became  ab- 
sorbed would  be  found  to  “run,”  and  so  giving  to  the 
pattern  imitated  an  indistinct  or  blurred  edge.  Yet 
the  most  elaborate  patterns  are  successfully  stenciled 
direct  on  to  pine,  and  the  figured  work  on  this  wood 
has  invariably  come  out  distinctly  and  naturally  as 
to  be  almost  indistinguishable  from  the  inlaid  work 
they  have  so  successfully  sought  to  imitate.  The 
great  difficulty  to  be  overcome  in  stenciling  with 
stains  is  undoubtedly  the  “running,”  but  with  a very 
little  care  and  patience  this  can  be  easily  obviated. 
Say  a painter  has  a border  to  stain  round  an  ordinary 
pine  floor  in  imitation  of  a selected  pattern  of  par- 
quetry, the  colors  of  which  are  generally  in  two  or 
more  shades  of  oak,  the  first  thing  he  has  to  do  after 
having  properly  prepared  the  floor — namely,  making 
the  part  to  be  stained  as  smooth  and  as  even  as  pos- 
sible by  filling  up  the  crevices  and  nail  holes — is  to 
stain  over  the  work  in  the  lightest  shade  shown  in 
his  pattern;  this  can  be  done  by  diluting  the  ordi- 
nary liquid  oak  stain  with  water  to  the  desired  tint. 
Next  let  him  cut  out  of  a piece  of  lining,  paper  in 


28 


Practical  House  Painter. 


the  form  of  a stencil — the  pattern  he  has  to  repro- 
duce on  the  floor — care  being  taken  to  oil  the  stencil 
in  order  to  strengthen  and  preserve  it.  He  should 
then  mix  the  stain  into  a stiff  paste  or  to  the  con- 
sistency of  a distemper  used  for  ordinary  stenciling; 
place  a portion  of  this  mixture  on  a smooth  piece 
of  wood,  take  up  a very  small  quantity  of  it  on  a 
stencil  brush  and  apply  through  the  stencil  plate  in 
the  same  way  he  would  a distemper.  If  a very  dark 
shade  is  required  apply  more  stain  before  removing 
the  stencil  plate. 

PAINTING  BRICK. 

Objections:  Chipping  of  the  brick,  and  scaling  of 
the  paint. 

The  chipping  may  be  on  account  of  defective  brick 
or  otherwise. 

Scaling  may  be  caused  by  poor  paint,  or  by  damp- 
ness in  the  brick. 

When  called  upon  to  paint  brick,  first  see  if  the 
brick  is  dry.  See  that  there  is  no  place  where  water 
leaks  in  from  the  roof  or  cornice  and  soaks  into  the 
brick.  A brick  wall  may  look  dry  and  still  be  damp 
inside.  - If  you  want  paint  to  stay  on  brick,  give  the 
brick  time  to  dry,  after  heavy  and  driving  rains.  It 
is  always  a bad  plan  to  paint  brick  in  the  fall,  after 
the  autumn  rains.  The  only  real  safe  time  to  paint  a 
brick  wall  is  in  summer,  after  a spell  of  hot,  dry 
weather.  You  can  not  always  wait  for  that,  but  you 
can  tell  the  owner  that  it  is  unsafe  to  paint  a brick 


Practical  House  Painter. 


29 


Wall  until  it  has  had  time  to  dry.  Why?  Because  in 
winter  the  moisture,  which  is  shut  in  by  the  paint, 
will  freeze,  expand  and  throw  off  the  paint  or  chip  the 
brick. 

Prime  brick  work  with  a thin  coat  of  good  paint 
mixed  in  pure  linseed  oil.  Flow  on  the  priming 
freely,  and  brush  it  well  into  the  brick;  for  second 
coat,  whatever  paint  you  use,  put  in  at  least  one- 
fourth  white  lead;  make  this  coat  one-third  turps, 
and  rub  it  well  out.  Give  it  a good  body.  For  the 
last  coat,  use  your  color  regardless  of  lead,  unless 
you  want  it  in  to  get  your  color.  If  you  want  a 
gloss,  mix  this  coat  with  all  boiled  oil,  and  flow  on. 
For  flat,  if  your  colors  are  ground  in  oil,  use  one- 
fourth  oil  and  three-fourths  turps,  and  if  it  don’t 
show  flat  when  painted,  it  will  flat  in  a short  time. 
The  last  coat  may  admit  of  more  oil  or  may  not  take 
as  much,  and  flat.  This  depends  upon  the  work 
when  started,  etc.  Some  painters  make  brick  dating 
by  breaking  up  the  pigment  in  japan,  and  elastic 
varnish  for  a binder,  and  thin  with  turps.  I prefer 
the  oil  for  a binder,  and  have  made  the  last  coat 
one-half  oil,  and  had  a nice  flat  in  a few  weeks.  I 
always  ridicule  the  idea  of  painting  brick  flat,  be- 
cause it  will  not  stand  as  long  as  an  oil  finish,  and 
the  oil  finish  will  be  flat  enough  in  a few  months.  ' 
CLEANING  UP  A ROOM. 

Now,  if  I were  going  to  teach  a boy  to  clean  up  a 
room,  the  first  thing  would  be  how  to  prepare  himself 


30 


Practical  House  Painter. 


for  the  job.  In  the  first  place,  he  wants  a damp 
sponge  with  a string  through  it  to  tie  over  his  head, 
to  hold  the  sponge  over  his  mouth  and  under  the  nose 
to  catch  the  dust,  because  it  is  a great  deal  more  pleas- 
ant and  a "sight”  more  healthful  to  carry  lime  and 
other  dust  in  a sponge  than  in  nostrils  and  windpipe. 
Then  he  wants  a cotton  cloth  cap,  large  enough  to 
draw  down  over  his  head  and  ears,  bib  overalls  and 
jacket  to  button  close  about  the  neck  and  he  is  well 
fixed.  In  such  a rig  he  may  look  peculiar,  but  he  had 
better  look  like  a monkey  than  to  skin  his  nostrils 
with  dust  and  fill  his  ears  and  hair  with  lime,  sand 
and  sawdust. 

For  tools,  he  needs  a good,  new,  fine  corn  broom,  a 
wide  bristle  sweeper  (a  ten  or  twelve-inch  paper- 
hanger’s  smoothing  brush  will  do),  a good  duster, 
a sharp  tool  to  pick  out  corners,  a two-inch  chiseled 
brush  for  corners.  A sprinkler  only  turns  dust  to 
mud,  to  dry  in  a few  hours  and  become  dust  again. 
When  you  have  swept  the  floor  with  your  broom  and 
dusted  your  woodwork  and  gone  over  the  floor  care- 
fully with  your  wide  bristle  brush  to  take  what  you 
brushed  from  the  casings  and  what  the  broom  left 
on  the  floor,  look  at  the  air  across  this  ray  of  sun- 
light ; it  is  full  of  dust,  soon  the  most  of  it  will  set- 
tle on  the  floor  and  casings  and  window  stools.  What 
then?  Wait  till  it  settles  and  wipe  it  off  with  a cloth 
and  don’t  forget  the  tops  of  the  doors  and  casings. 
"Why  use  a cloth?”  Well,  if  you  go  in  and  begin  to 


Practical  House  Painter. 


31 


use  a dust  brush  after  the  dust  settles  you  throw  a 
portion  of  it  in  the  air  again  and  it  will  settle  on  the 
work.  And  by  the  way,  I want  to  say  that  a wiping 
cloth  is  a very  important  article  for  a painter  to  carry. 
It  always  makes  me  “red  hot ” to  see  a painter  (?), 
after  he  has  daubed  a key  shield  or  a hinge,  try  to 
wipe  it  off  with  his  thumb;  I could  forgive  him  for 
the  daub ; the  best  man  in  the  trade  may  sometimes 
do  that,  but  the  man  who  will  rub  part  of  it  off  with 
his  thumb  and  let  the  rest  dry  ought  to  be  sent  off  the 
job  or  suspended  long  enough  to  take  a lesson  in 
the  art  of  wiping  off  daubs. 

I want  to  say  further  that  every  well  regulated 
dusting  kit  ought  to  have  a dust  pan  hitched  to  it 
in  some  way.  It  will  save  sweeping  the  dust  out  on 
the  steps  to  be  tracked  in  again,  save  the  time  you 
would  lose  in  sweeping  the  dust  over  thresholds,  or 
save  the  time  it  would  take  to  borrow  one. 

PASTE  FOB  LABELING  ON  TIN. 

Make  a stiff  flour  paste  in  the  usual  way,  with 
flour  and  water,  then  add  2 ounces  tartaric  acid,  and 
1 pint  of  molasses;  boil  the  mixture  until  stiff,  and 
put  in  ten  or  fifteen  drops  carbolic  acid. 

ANOTHER. 


Wheat  flour  1 pound 

Alum  2 drams 

Borax  2 drams 

Hydrochloric  acid  li  ounces 


Mix  the  flour,  alum  and  borax  in  the  usual  way, 


32 


Practical  House  Painter. 


to  a smooth  paste  in  water,  then  add  the  acid  and 
cook  in  the  usual  way  with  hot  water. 

TO  MAKE  TENTS,  ETC.,  WEATHERPROOF. 

To  prevent  tents,  wagon  covers,  etc.,  from  rotting 
dissolve  4 ounces  sulphate  of  zinc  in  10  gallons,  of 
water,  then  put  in  one-fourth  pound  sal-soda,  stir 
well  until  dissolved  and  add  one-fourth  ounce  tartaric 
acid.  Let  the  cloth' lie  in  this  one  day  and  night  and 
hang  up  to  dry.  Don’t  wring  it. 

TO  PAINT  ON  CANVAS  OR  MUSLIN  WITHOUT  SIZING. 

First  stretch,  then  wet  the  cloth.  Wipe  off  the 
drops  and  letter  while  the  cloth  is  damp  with  color 
mixe3  with  japan  and  turps. 

TO  PAPNT  ON  ZINC. 

A difficulty  is  often  experienced  in  causing  oil 
colors  to  adhere  to  sheet  zinc.  Boettger  recommends 
the  employment  of  a mordant,  so  to  speak,  of  the 
following  composition : 1 part  of  chloride  of  copper, 
1 of  nitrate  of  copper  and  1 of  sal-ammoniac  are  to 
be  dissolved  in  64  parts  of  water,  to  which  solution 
is  to  be  added  1 part  of  commercial  hydrochloric 
acid.  The  sheets  of  zinc  are  to  be  brushed  over  with 
this  liquid,  which  gives  them  a deep  black  color;  in 
the  course  of  12  to  24  hours  they  become  dry,  and  to 
their  now  dirty  gray  surface  a coat  of  any  oil  color 
will  firmly  adhere.  Some  sheets  of  zinc  prepared  in 
• this  way,  and  afterwards  painted,  have  been  found 
to  withstand  all  the  changes  of  winter  and  summer. 


Practical  House  Painter. 


33 


PAINTING  BLINDS. 

When  painting  a blind  never  turn  it  upon  edge 
when  cutting  in  the  inside  of  the  rail,  because  the 
paint  will  be  likely  to  run  into  the  pivot-holes  and 
stick  the  slats.  When  you  set  a blind  up  to  dry,  set 
the  bottom  end  up,  and  be  sure  to  have  the  slats  lie 
flat  side  up.  Why?  Because  the  bottom  end  of  the 
blind  when  hung  is  more  apt  to  drag  on  the  window 
sill  than  the  top  end  is  to  touch  the  jam  above.  If 
set  bottom  end  up,  that  end  will  dry  solid  and  if 
there  are  any  sags  it  will  be  at  the  top.  Keep  the 
slats  flat  side  up  to  avoid  flat  edges. 

TREATMENT  FOR  HARDWOOD  FLOORS. 

First  see  that  the  floor  is  clean  and  smooth;  then 
give  it  a coat  of  best  oil,  with  japan  sufficient  to  make 
it  dry;  cut  the  japan  in  turps.  Then  put  on  a good 
mineral  paste,  filler  in  the  usual  way  by  rubbing  the 
filler  well  into  the  wood;  then  clean  off  all  the  sur- 
plus. When  dry,  sandpaper  and  putty  up  well  with 
colored,  hard  putty,  and  put  on  a coat  of  shellac;  if 
too  glossy,  rub  down  with  powdered  pumice  and  oil. 
Be  careful  to  have  the  putty  match  the  floor. 

WHITEWASH  FOR  OUTSIDE  WORK. 

Take  one-half  pound  of  fresh  burnt  lime.  Dip  it 
in  water  and  let  it  slack  in  the  open  air.  Melt  two 
ounces  of  bagundy  pitch  by  gentle  heat,  in  six  ounces 
of  linseed  oil ; then  add  two  quarts  of  skim-milk 
while  the  lime  is  hot,  add  the  mixture  of  pitch  and 


34 


Practical  House  Painter. 


oil,  a little  at  a time  while  hot,  and  stir  it  in;  then 
add  three  pounds  of  bolted  whiting  and  stir.  Add 
more  milk  if  too  thick  for  the  brush. 

THE  STRAINER. 

Don’t  forget  to  use  the  strainer.  After  you  have 
put  in  your  best  licks  to  clean  up  and  sandpaper  a 
job,  it  is  the  height  of  folly  to  daub  it  up  with  paint 
full  of  skins  and  specks.  Oil  paint  is  liable  to  be 
“skinny”  in  the  keg.  Miller’s  bolting  cloth  makes 
a good  strainer,  and  common  cheese  cloth  at  five  cents 
a yard  does  very  well  for  ordinary  purposes.  ' 

TO  KILL  GREASE  SPOTS  ON  WOOD. 

Use  a wash  of  saltpeter  or  a thin  lime  wash,  then 
rinse  with  clear  water.  Treat  blacksmith’s  smoke  in 
the  same  way. 

KALSOMINE. 

To  please  an  old  friend  I give  the  following  recipe 
for  kalsomine.  He  says  it  is  good.  I never  used  it, 
so  you  will  have  to  take  his  word  for  it. 

Fifteen  pounds  good  paris  white,  mixed  up  in  luke- 
warm water,  add  one-fourth  pound  good  glue,  dis- 
solved in  the,  usual  way,  strain  through  a fine  sieve, 
then  dissolve  one-fourth  pound  white  hard  soap  in 
hot  water  and  one-half  pound  of  alum  in  cold  water 
and  mix.  Add  water  to  give  the  right  consistency 
for  putting  it  on  the  wall. 


Practical  House  Painter. 


35 


TO  TAKE  OFF  THE  PAINT. 

If  you  have  an  old,  roughly  painted  door  to  cut 
down  for  a fine  job,  donT  fool  away  your  time,  and 
fill  your  nose  with  dust,  trying  to  do  it  with  dry  sand- 
paper, but  take  the  door  off  its  hinges,  lay  it  flat  on 
horses,  and  keep  the  surface  under  your  sandpaper 
wet  with  benzine,  and  you  can  do  in  an  hour  what 
would  otherwise  take  half  a day.  The  benzine  softens 
the  paint,  and  keeps  the  paper  from  gumming  up. 
If  it  is  not  practicable  to  take  the  door  off  the 
hinges,  put  your  benzine  in  a small  spring-bottomed 
oil  can  and  squirt  it  on  the  work  as  needed  to  keep 
the  paper  clear  of  paint  and  make  it  cut  fast.  Wipe 
off  the  loose  paint  with  rags.  It  works  equally  well 
on  old  varnish.  Try  it  once  on  an  old  carriage  body. 

If  the  old  paint  is  extra  hard  use  a mixture  in 
equal  parts  of  benzine  and  ammonia. 

CLEANING  SILVER,  BRASS  OR  COPPER. 

In  the  course  of  our  work  we  often  meet  with 
tarnished  metal  ornaments,  which  must  be  cleaned  to 
make  our  work  look  well. 

This  preparation  is  a good  one: 


Paris  white  (fine) 1 pound 

Carb.  magnesia  2 drams  ' ' 

Cyanuret  potash  7 drams 

Sulph.  ether  3 drams 

Crocus  martis  1 dram 

Soft  water  1 J ounces 


or  sufficient  to  make  a stiff  paste. 


36 


Practical  House  Painter. 


Mix  by  rubbing,  add  the  paris  white  last,  then  stir 
into  the  water.  Apply  with  a rag  or  sponge,  and  rub 
dry  and  polish  with  a rag  or  canton  flannel. 

WHY  DO  WALL  PAPERS  CRACK? 

Some  papers  are  more  inclined  to  crack  than 
others,  because  they  are  made  of  more  brittle  mate- 
rial. When  selecting  a paper  for  a whitewashed  wall 
or  ceiling,  take  a pattern  which  feels  soft  and  pliable. 
Papers  which  crackle  or  rattle  when  crumpled  in 
the  hand  arc  liable  to  crack.  Papers  which  stretch  or 
expand  the  most  when  wet  are  the  most  apt  to  crack ; 
because  when  they  dry  and  shrink  the  pull  is  so 
great  that  the  fibers  give  away,  if  great  care  is  not 
taken  in  putting  it  on.  Cracking  may  be  the  fault 
of  the  paper  hanger.  He  may  use  his  paste  too 
thick,  or  too  thin,  or  put  on  too  much  or  too  little. 
Paste  should  be  put  on  even  and  of  the  proper  con- 
sistency and  thickness  to  cement  the  paper  to  the 
walls.  Paper  is  more  liable  to  crack  on  rough  anl 
uneven  walls.  On  a smooth  wall,  if  properly  put  on, 
it  becomes,  as  it  dries,  so  fastened  to  the  plaster  that 
it  cannot  contract  enough  to  break  the  fibers,  but  on 
a rough  and  uneven  wall  there  are  apt  to  be  loose 
places  where  the  air  gets  in,  and  the  contraction  of 
the  paper  so  weakens  the  fibers  that  it  cracks. 

Now,  if  the  paper  hanger  will  be  careful  to  secure 
the  paper  uniformly  by  using  sufficient  paste  on 
rough  places  to  hold  the  paper,  and  be  careful  to 


Practical  House  Painter. 


37 


brush  or  pound  the  paper  down  firmly,  he  will  greatly 
reduce  the  chances  of  cracking.  A roller  can  not 
be  depended  upon  for  a rough  wall.  Too  much  or 
not  enough  sizing  on  a wall  may  be  a cause  of  crack- 
ing. Hot  paste,  which  thickens  as  it  cools,  is  not 
safe  to  use  on  such  walls,  because  it  may  appear  just 
right  when  hot  but  will  be  too  thick  when  cool  and 
cause  the  paper  to  crack. 

OIL  SIZE  FOR  WHITEWASH. 

Oil  size  is  good  to  use  on  a whitewashed  ceiling 
before  papering  if  you  don’t  overdo  it.  A friend  of 
mine  thought,  if  a little  was  good,  a great  deal  would 
be  better;  so  he  gave  his  ceiling  two  flowing  coats  of 
clear  oil,  and  when  dry  put  on  his  paper,  but  it  did 
not  stay.  Why?  Because  he  put  on  so  much  oil 
that  he  made  a glossy  surface  and  the  gloss  could  not 
hold  the  paste.  An  oil  size  on  whitewash  is  all  right 
if  used  right.  It  is  a mistake  to  use  clear  oil;  1 
pint  of  oil,  1 pint  japan  and  1 quart  turpentine  is 
better,  because  it  will  penetrate  further,  dry  faster, 
flat  the  surface,  and  have  sufficient  binding  power 
to  hold  the  whitewash  from  coming  off.  Don’t  size 
a wall  with  paste.  Paste  and  whitewash  don’t  go 
well  together.  The  fact  that  you  have  to  size  your 
wall  to  make  paper  stick  proves  this. 

Oil  size  should  dry  hard  before  the  paper  is  put 
on. 

I find  glutol,  manufactured  by  the  Arabol  Manu- 


38 


Practical  House  Painter. 


facturing  Co.,  No.  13  Gold  street,  New  York,  a first- 
class  substitute  for  glue  in  wall  size  and  kalsomine, 
and  prefer  it  to  glue,  because  it  will  not  attract  flies, 
nor  spoil  by  standing  in  hot  weather,  and  can  be 
mixed  in  cold  water. 

TO  CLEAN  BRICK. 

The  white  powder  which  comes  on  brick  can  be 
removed  by  sponging  with  a mixture  of  muriatic 
acid  and  water,  equal  parts.  Wash  the  brick  in  clear 
water  and  let  them  become  well  dried  before  painting. 

TO  CLEAN  TARNISHED  ZINC. 

Mix  1 part  sulphuric  acid  with  12  parts  water  and 
rub  the  zinc  with  it  with  a rag,  then  rinse  with  clear 
water. 

TO  GILD  ON  WOOD. 

First  get  a good  body  and  a smooth  surface.  The 
work  should  be  flat  with  three  coats  at  least  on  wood, 
and  not  less  than  two  on  iron  or  tin.  The  best  size 
for  outside  work  is  oil  gold  size  (fat  oil),  mixed  with 
a little  medium  chrome  yellow  toned  down  with  white 
lead;  put  in  a very  little  japan  gold  size,  and  thin  to 
workable  consistency  with  turps;  let  it  stand  until 
tacky.  It  must  be  hard  enough  to  prevent  rubbing  up 
or  sweating.  The  method  with  the  tip,  gold  knife  and 
cushion  requires  considerable  dexterity  as  well  as 
practice  to  do  good  and  rapid  work.  The  tip,  or  lifter, 
is  only  a few  camel  hairs  glued  between  two  pieces  of 


Practical  House  Painter. 


30 


paste  board,  or  other  material.  The  knife  is  a long 
narrow  flexible  blade,  and  the  cushion  is  made  on  a 
block,  6 by  8 inches,  first  covered  with  a thickness  or 
two  of  woolen  cloth,  and  finished  by  stretching  a piece 
of  chamois  skin  over  it.  Hold  the  gold  book  in  the 
left  hand,  and  turn  back  a leaf  of  the  book,  leaving 
the  gold  exposed  on  the  next  leaf;  press  the  leaf  of 
gold  againt  the  cushion  and  it  will  remain.  Then 
straighten  out  wrinkles  by  a slight  puff  of  the  breath 
from  above,  cut  the  leaf  into  the  required  size  with 
the  gold-knife,  and  lift  the  leaf  to  its  place  with  the 
tip.  The  tip  will  lift  the  gold  better  if  occasionally 
drawn  over  the  hair  of  your  head. 

Another  way  to  prepare  the  leaf : Cut  the  book 
through  at  the  binding  with  a sharp  knife,  which  will 
leave  all  the  leaves  free  and  separate.  Now  take  up 
the  top  paper  or  cover,  which  will  leave  the  gold  leaf 
on  the  book ; lay  the  paper  on  a board  and  rub  it  over 
with  a piece  of  wax,  paraffine  candle,  or  a piece  of 
hard  soap ; either  will  do.  Place  the  waxed  side  on 
to  the  gold,  and  smooth  the  paper  down  gently ; 
repeat  until  you  have  as  many  leaves  prepared  as  you 
need.  Then,  with  good  sharp  shears  cut  them  in  such 
shape  and  size  as  will  best  cover  your  work,  and  not 
waste  the  gold.  Lay  the  pieces  on  your  board,  gold 
side  up.  When  ready,  lay  the  pieces  on  the  work,  rub 
down  with  the  fingers,  or  a ball  of  cotton,  take  off  the 
paper  and  the  gold  will  stay  on  the  size.  In  this  way 
the  gold  adheres  quite  firmly  to  the  waxed  paper,  and 


40 


Practical  House  Painter. 


the  size  must  have  a strong  tack  to  take  the  gold  off 
the  paper.  Experts  lay  the  leaf  directly  from  the 
book,  and  you  had  best  learn  to  do  it  that  way  for 
general  work,  if  you  spoil  half  a dozen  books  while 
catching  on  to  the  knack  of  it.  Try  it  this  way: 
Now,  here  is  a stripe  half  an  inch  wide,  and  the  size 
is  ready  for  the  gold.  Now  hold  the  book  flat  in 
your  left  hand  with  your  thumb  on  top,  hold  the  top 
paper  firm  with  your  thumb.  (If  you  let  it  slip,  the 
leaf  under  it  will  be  spoiled.)  If  the  stripe  is  one- 
half  inch  wide,  turn  back  enough  of  the  paper  to  ex- 
pose three-fourths  of  an  inch  of  the  gold  leaf,  crease 
the  turned  back  cover  down  with  the  fingers  of  the 
right  hand,  and  hold  it  with  the  thumb  on  the  back. 
Now  cut  the  leaf  with  the  finger-nail,  first  rubbing  it 
dry  on  your  pants;  then  turn  the  book  carefully 
and  quickly  over  on  to  the  stripe,  and  press  the  gold 
down  gently  by  pressing  the  book.  Then  turn  down 
more  of  the  paper,  and  repeat  until  that  leaf  is  gone; 
then  take  another  and  so  on.  If  the  book  gets  too 
limber  towards  the  last  to  handle  well,  have  a square 
of  cardboard  to  lay  under  the  book  next  to  the  hand ; 
you  will  find  this  is  a help  even  with  a full  book. 
You  will,  perhaps,  waste  more  gold  in  this  way  than 
by  the  transfer  method,  but  ypu  will  more  than 
make  it  up  in  time,  if  you  become  expert. 

1st.  Be  sure  of  a good  foundation. 

2d.  Have  your  gold  size  right,  and  study  to  know 
when  the  tackiness  is  just  right.  If  your  surface  is 


Practical  House  Painter. 


41 


not  perfectly  free  from  tackiness,  pounce  with  a bag 
of  gilder’s  whiting  before  putting  on  the  size,  to  keep 
the  gold  from  sticking  outside  of  the  size. 

When  you  lay  the  leaf  from  the  book  and  cut  the 
leaf  with  your  finger  nail,  turn  the  ball  of  the  finger 
toward  you  and  the  nail  towards  the  gold,  and  run 
the  nail  close  to  the  edge  of  the  turned  paper;  then, 
if  the  nail  is  not  too  long,  the  end  of  the  finger  will 
hold  down  the  paper  while  the  nail  cuts  the  leaf. 

To  prepare  paper  for  the  transfer  method  I rub 
the  paper  on  my  hair,  then  lay  it  on  the  gold  leaf, 
gently  rub  it  with  my  finger  tips,  and  the  leaf  ad- 
heres to  the  paper. 

It  can  then  be  cut  with  shears  in  any  desired  shape 
to  cover  the  work. 

Some  gold  leaf  is  now  packed  in  paper  so  prepared 
that  the  leaf  will  adhere  to  one  side  of  it  and  can  be 
taken  up  in  that  way. 

Some  gilders  take  up  the  leaf  by  wetting  the  paper 
on  the  back  with  turpentine  to  make  the  leaf  adhere 
to  the  other  side,  when  it  can  be  cut  to  the  required 
shape  with  shears.  This  is  done  instead  of  waxing 
the  paper. 

STIR  YOUR  PAINT. 

It  isn’t  always  your  material  that  makes  a bad  job, 
but  it  seems  an  easy  matter  to  make  even  the  best  of 
paint  the  scapegoat  for  bad  work.  The  heedless  work- 


42 


Practical  House  Painter. 


man  who  primes  a plastered  wall  without  sweeping 
down  the  loose  sand,  or  is  careless  about  taking  the 
sand  and  dust  from  the  tops  of  casings  and  the  floors, 
will,  if  he  stops  to  examine,  find  some  in  the  brush 
and  some  of  it  in  his  paint  pot;  and  then,  to  cover 
up  his  carelessness,  he  can  lay  the  blame  on  the  paint. 
The  careful  painter  will,  when  using  heavy  pigments, 
carry  a paddle,  and  not  neglect  to  use  it.  To  pre- 
vent white  lead  and  other  heavy  pigments  from  set- 
tling in  the  pot  the  paint  must  be  well  mixed,  and 
kept  mixed  by  stirring  with  a paddle  as  often  and  as 
much  as  may  be  necessary  to  keep  the  oil  or  other 
vehicle,  and  the  pigment  well  incorporated.  No  one 
but  a novice,  or  a careless  painter  will  permit  a sedi- 
ment to  accumulate  in  the  bottom  of  his  pot;  no 
matter  whether  the  pigment  is  coarse  or  fine;  or 
whether  the  vehicle  used  is  linseed  oil,  turpentine  or 
benzine.  The  painter  who  goes  to  work  without  a stir- 
ring paddle  in  his  pot  will  be  liable  to  do  uneven 
work,  and  find  more  or  less  sediment  in  the  bottom 
of  his  paint  pot  at  quitting  time,  because  there  is  no 
white  lead  made  which  does  not  contain  more  or  less 
particles  sufficiently  heavy  to  commence  settling  the 
minute  the  paddle  stops,  and  go  to  the  bottom  of  a 
pot  of  flating,  as  ordinarily  mixed,  inside  of  thirty 
minutes,  and  other  particles  of  smaller  size  will  fol- 
low later.  If  the  pigment  is  mixed  witji  oil  the  pro- 
cess of  settling  is  slower,  but  no  less  sure  to  take 
place,  and  continue,  if  undisturbed,  until  clear  oil 


Practical  House  Painter. 


43 


stands  on  top  of  the  pigment.  Don’t  try  to  use  your 
brush  for  a paddle ; it  isn’t  a good  tool  to  stir  paint 
from  the  bottom.  Paint  made  of  heavy  pigment 
must  be  frequently  stirred  with  a paddle  to  keep  it 
of  uniform  consistency,  but  this  operation  is  too 
often  neglected.  For  instance,  a man  starts  out  with 
a full  pot  in  the  morning  and  neglects  to  stir  his 
paint  as  he  works,  hence  the  heavier  particles  com- 
mence to  settle  and  soon  get  below  the  dip  of  the 
brush,  and  by  continual  settling  keep  out  of  the 
reach  of  it  until  they  reach  the  bottom.  When  the 
paint  is  nearly  all  out,  and  the  sediment  at  the  bot- 
tom don’t  work  well,  he  refills  his  pot,  leaving  in  the 
coarse  pigment.  At  night  the  boss  finds  an  inch  or 
less  of  coarse  paint  in  the  bottom  of  the  pot,  and 
without  further  inquiry  complains  that  the  lead  is 
sandy. 

Another  instance:  The  paint  for  a job  stands 
mixed  over  night;  the  painters  fill  their  pots  from 
time  to  time  during  the  day,  but  never  stir  the  paint 
from  the  bottom,  hence  the  last  pot  or  two  filled  will 
have  all  the  coarse  pigment  of  the  batch.  There  are 
cases,  I admit  (too  many  of  them),  where  not  only 
white  lead,  but  dry  colors  and  colors  in  oil,  are  too 
coarse  to  work  well,  but  the  best  white  lead  and  heavy 
colored  pigments  in  oil  or  turpentine  are  liable  to 
be  called  sandy  unless  frequently  stirred  by  the 
painter. 


u 


Practical  House  Painter. 


TO  MAKE  CHERRY  STAIN. 

Take  annotto,  4 ounces,  and  clear  rain  water,  3 
quarts.  Boil  in  a brass  or  copper  kettle,  new  tin  or 
galvanized  iron  will  do,  until  the  color  of  the  annotto 
is  imparted  to  the  water ; then  add  £ ounce  potash, 
and  keep  the  mixture  hot  for  30  minutes;  then,  as 
soon  as  cool  enough  to  handle,  it  is  ready  for  use. 
Now,  have  the  work  free  from  dust,  and  spread  on 
your  stain  with  a brush  or  sponge  and  rub  it  well 
into  the  wood. 

When  the  work  is  dry,  rub  lightly  with  fine  sand- 
paper, because  the  water  stain  will  raise  the  grain 
unless  the  wood  has  been  filled. 

You  can  suit  the  taste  of  the  owner  as  to  depth 
of  color  by  repeating  the  operation,  or  by  making  the 
stain  weaker  or  stronger,  as  the  case  may  require. 

VARNISH  STAINS. 

These  often  come  very  handy  to  the  painter,  not 
only  in  toning  up  new  wood,  but  in  renewing  the 
freshness  of  old  work. 

MAHOGANY  VARNISH  STAIN. 

Spirits  1 gallon,  gum  sandarac  1 pound,  shellac 
\ pound,  Venice  turpentine  2 ounces,  dragon’s  blood 
4 ounces. 

WALNUT  VARNISH  STAIN. 

Shellac  1\  pounds,  spirit  1 gallon,  Bismarck  brown 
1 ounce,  nigrosine  \ ounce.  You  can,  by  varying  the 


Practical  House  Painter. 


45 


proportions  of  the  two  colors,  make  the  shade  as  you 
like  it. 

(Spirit  in  this  connection  means  either  wood  or 
grain  alcohol.) 

MAHOGANY  VARNISH  STAIN. 

Spirits  1 gallon,  shellac  1^  pounds,  Bismarck 
brown  B ounce,  nigrosine  30  grains.  More  nigrosine 
will  make  the  stain  darker.  If  this  is  too  thick  to 
work  well,  thin  with  spirits. 

TO  MAKE  NEW  OAK  LOOK  OLD. 

Sponge  it  with  a strong  hot  solution  of  common 
soda  in  water.  This  will  raise  the  grain,  hence  it 
will  require  cutting  down  with  sandpaper. 

DARK  STAIN  FOR  OAK. 

Make  a solution  of  bi-chromate  of  potash,  1-|  ounces 
to  2 quarts  soft  water.  Lay  on  the  solution  with  a 
good  clean  sponge  and  keep  the  wood  wet  with  the 
solution  until  it  is  dark  enough  to  please  you.  Then 
wash  off  the  potash  with  clean  soft  water. 

ANOTHER. 

Apply  with  a brush,  strong  aqua  ammonia  until 
you  get  the  desired  shade. 

RED  SAUNDERS  STAIN. 

Fill  a bottle  1-3  full  of  red  saunders,  then  fill  the 
bottle  with  either  wood  or  grain  alcohol.  The  more 
red  saunders  you  put  in,  the  stronger  will  be  the 


46 


Practical  House  Painter. 


stain;  yon  can  dilute  it  for  the  lighter  shades.  The 
longer  it  stands,  the  more  color  will  be  extracted. 
Always  strain  through  muslin  before  using. 

Eed  saunders  makes  a good  cherry  stain.  When 
used  on  the  bare  wood  it  requires  m.  Dinder,  but  when 
used  over  filled  or  oiled  wood,  put  in  one-fourth  as 
much  shellac  varnish  as  you  have  stain,  to  act  as  a 
binder  for  it.  If  you  want  it  to  act  as  a filler  as  well 
as  a stain,  for  pine  or  other  close  grained  Wood,  add 
pounds  corn  starch,  to  each  gallon  of  the  mixture 
of  stain  and  shellac.  Try  a little  and  if  it  rubs  up 
when  dry,  add  more  shellac. 

You  can  mix  red  saunders  stain  with  asphaltum 
varnish,  to  make  black  walnut  and  mahogany  stains, 
using  more  or  less  of  either  to  give  the  desired  shade 
by  using  turpentine  to  make  them  mix.  The  as- 
phaltum acts  as  a binder  in  place  of  the  shellac. 

The  practical  painter  can  get  the  shades  he  wants 
by  experimenting  on  this  line. 

TO  CHANGE  THE  COLOR  OF  WALNUT  TO  DARK 
MAHOGANY. 

First  give  it  a coat  of  very  thin  asphaltum  varnish, 
then,  when  dry,  give  it  a coat  of  red  saunders  and 
shellac. 

You  can  mix  the  red  saunders  and  asphaltum  stain 
with  any  turpentine  varnish,  or  with  spirit  varnish,  if 
you  use  turpentine  to  make  them  mix. 

Burnt  umber  and  burnt  sienna  in  oil  or  varnish 


Practical  House  Painter. 


47 


make  a walnut  stain.  Use  but  little  of  the  pigments 
in  proportion  to  the  oil.  Too  much  pigment  gives 
the  work  a muddy  color. 

NATURAL  WOOD  FINISHING. 

Clean  up  all  soiled  places  on  the  wood.  To  be 
sure  of  a good  job  on  open  grained  wood  use  a Bliss 
Rock  Wood  Filler.  If  you  use  a ready  made  filler, 
thin  as  per  directions  on  the  can.  Whatever  filler 
you  use,  put  it  on  with  a good  brush.  As  soon  as 
the  filler  begins  to  set,  or  show  flat,  commence  to  rub 
it  into  the  grain  with  a pad  made  by  gluing  a piece 
of  harness  leather  onto  a block;  always  when  prac- 
ticable rub  across  the  grain  of  the  wood.  For  round 
work  have  a long  piece  of  leather  to  draw  back  and 
forth  around  the  work.  Remember  the  main  thing 
at  this  stage  is  to  get  as  much  of  the  filler  as  possible 
rubbed  into  the  wood. 

Another  important  point  is  to  take  off  the  surplus 
filler  before  it  becomes  too  hard  to  wipe  off,  and 
another  point  is  to  wipe  off  the  surplus  filler  and 
leave  the  pores  of  the  wood  level  full.  Hence,  it 
is  important  that  the  filler  does  not  dry  too  fast, 
that  the  painter  puts  on  no  more  filler  at  a time 
than  he  can  handle  before  it  dries,  and  that  in  wip- 
ing off  the  surplus  filler  he  works  his  rags  across  the 
grain.  Some  very  open  grained  wood  requires  a 
second  application  of  filler  to  make  a good  job,  or  at 
least  to  be  looked  over  and  touched  up.  The  filler 


48 


Practical  House  Painter. 


should  have  at  least  two  days  to  dry.  When  dry  go 
over  it  lightly  with  fine  sandpaper  to  take  off  all 
particles  of  filler  left  on  the  surface. 

Walnut,  mahogany,  chestnut,  oak,  ash  and  butter- 
nut may  be  classed  as  open  grained  woods,  which 
need  to  be  well  filled  with  paste  filler  colored  to 
match  the  color  of  the  wood.  When  the  filler  is  dry 
put  on  a coat  or  two  of  white  shellac  and  rub  down 
smooth  with  No.  1 sandpaper,  and  follow  with  two 
or  more  coats  of  hard  oil  or  varnish,  as  you  like ; give 
each  coat  plenty  of  time  to  dry  and  rub  each  coat 
with  curled  hair  or  hair  cloth,  except  the  last  coat. 
If  you  want  an  egg  shell  or  half  gloss,  rub  the  last 
coat  with  pulverized  pumice  stone  and  raw  linseed 
oil.  If  you  want  a dead  finish  rub  down  with  pul- 
verized pumice  stone  and  water  instead  of  oil.  If 
you  want  a polish,  first  rub  with  the  pumice  stone 
and  water;  then  with  rotten  stone  and  water,  and 
polish  with  rotten  stone  and  oil,  or  furniture  pol- 
ish and  rotten  stone.  If  you  want  a gloss  finish, 
flow  on  the  last  coat  and  omit  rubbing.  Treat  the 
close  grained  woods  as  above  stated,  with  the  excep- 
tion of  the  filler.  The  shellac  also  may  be  omitted, 
but  it  will  take  at  least  one  more  coat  of  hard-oil  or 
varnish  for  the  job. 

Cherry,  sycamore,  maple,  birch,  gumwood,  red- 
wood, cypress,  pine,  whitewood,  poplar  and  hemlock 
are  all  close  grained  woods,  and  need  no  paste  filler. 


Practical  House  Painter. 


49 


Pine  especially  should  have  a coat  of  shellac  to  keep 
back  the  pitch. 

For  an  extra  fine  job  of  gloss  finish,  rub  next  to 
the  last  coat  with  pumice  stone  and  water,  flow  on  a 
coat  of  good  varnish,  and  leave  it  in  the  gloss.  In 
this  case  great  care  is  required  in  cleaning  the  work 
to  keep  it  from  showing  specks. 

It  stands  the  beginner  in  hand  to  be  careful  and 
not  use  his  shellac  too  heavy  to  work  well;  shellac 
has  good  body  and  an  apparently  very  thin  coat  will 
be  a good  heavy  one. 

To  do  a fine  job  the  room  and  work  must  be  clean, 
the  clothing  free  from  dust,  and  the  work,  brushes 
and  varnish  free  from  specks.  If  specks  show  on 
your  gloss  coat  call  a halt,  and  find  where  they  come 
from. 

Soft  cotton,  rags  are  the  best  material  for  wiping 
off  surplus  filler. 

A felt  pad  of  convenient  size  to  handle  is  the  best 
for  rubbing  work.  Get  one  at  the  furniture  shop. 
For  a cheap  job  omit  the  water  rubbing,  and  rub 
with  pumice  stone  and  raw  oil. 

TO  MAKE  BLEACHED  OR  WHITE  SHELLAC  VARNISH. 

Take  powdered  white  shellac  If  pounds,  best  grain 
alcohol  1 gallon.  Add  the  gum  to  the  alcohol,  set 
it  in  a warm  place  and  shake  your  jug  or  bottle 
occasionally.  Don’t  put  it  in  tin  or  iron;  either  of 
them  will  discolor  it.  You  can  hasten  the  process  by 


50 


Practical  House  Painter. 


setting  your  jug  in  a sand  or  water  bath,  and  gently 
heating  it ; or  set  it  by  the  stove,  or  in  the  sunshine. 

To  make  the  common  orange  shellac  of  commerce, 
dissolve  1|  pounds  orange  shellac  in  1 gallon  methy- 
lated spirit  or  grain  alcohol.  This  will  dry  in  ten 
or  fifteen  minutes,  and  makes  a hard  lustrous  varnish 
when  dry,  and  stands  the  weather  better  than  most 
gum  varnishes.  It  makes  a turbid  liquid  of  orange 
brown  hue  and  dries  rather  a pale  brown.  For  use 
on  dark  wood  this  is  equal  to  the  white  shellac,  if  not 
superior. 

TO  COLOR  PUTTY. 

There  is  no  use  in  trying  to  color  common  putty  to 
match  the  color  of  natural  wood.  The  whiting  in  it 
will  not  take  clear  tints.  Use  lead  putty,  which  you 
can  tint  with  raw  sienna  for  pine,  yellow  ochre  for 
oak,  burnt  umber  and  burnt  sienna  for  walnut,  and 
burnt  sienna  for  mahogany.  Better  have  the  putty 
too  light  than  too  dark. 

SPOTS  ON  PAINT. 

Poor  lumber  and  thin  painting  are  often  the  cause 
of  spots  on  paint,  especially  on  two-coat  work.  On 
cross-grained  and  other  extra-porous  places  more  of 
the  oil  sinks  into  the  wood  than  on  the  general  sur- 
face, and  the  result  is  flat  places  in  the  paint,  which 
fade  sooner  than  the  glossy  paint ; hence,  the  work 
looks  spotted. 

To  provide  against  this  kind  of  spotting  use  more 


Practical  House  Painter. 


51 


care  in  priming  and  see  that  all  extra-porous  places 
are  well  filled  with  the  prime  coat,  or  touch  them  up 
before  the  second  coat  goes  on.  A little  extra  work 
with  the  brush  when  putting  on  the  prime  will  save 
trouble. 

Another  cause  may  be  traced  to  the  practice  of 
putting  on  a coarse  dark  priming  coat,  which  will 
show  through  in  places  where  the  paint  is  thinnest. 

Mildew,  or  fungus  growth,  is  another  cause.  This 
sometimes  comes  from  the  use  of  too  much  japan, 
poor  or  fat  oil,  or  when  the  paint  dries  tacky  or  soft. 

Adulteration  of  linseed  oil  with  mineral  and  other 
non-drying  oils,  has  a tendency  to  make  paint  dry 
soft.  Linseed  oil,  kept  for  a few  days  in  an  old  sour 
tank  or  in  an  old  rancid  can  in  the  paint-shop,  is 
liable  to  cause  fermentation  to  take  place,  which  may 
result  in  mildew  in  damp  weather  in  shaded  places. 

When  an  oil  can  smells  sour,  or  there  is  a deposit 
of  foots  at  the  bottom,  it  is  unfit  to  keep  oil  in. 

Another  cause  of  spotting  may  be  found  in  in- 
sufficient and  improper  brushing  or  spreading  the 
paint;  especially  the  priming,  which  requires  as 
much  care  in  putting  on  as  any  other  coat  on  the 
job. 

For  instance,  here  is  a job  which  shows  “laps” 
Now,  if  this  prime  is  right  when  it  is  put  on  single,  it 
is  wrong  when  it  is  put  on  double,  because,  where  the 
laps  are,  the  work  has  at  least  one  more  coat  than 


52 


Practical  House  Painter. 


the  balance  of  the  job,  hence  the  paint  is  liable  to 
fade  spotted. 

PORCELAIN  FINISH. — CHINA  GLOSS. — GLOSS  FINISH. 

All  different  names  for  about  the  same  thing.  To 
make  a fine  job:  If  the  work  is  new,  see  that  it  is 
smooth,  free  from  dust  and  stains.  Then  give  it  a 
coat  of  priming,  put  on  thin,  so  as  not  to  show 
brush  marks,  and  rub  down  with  No.  0 sandpaper. 
Next,  get  a good  body  with  keg  lead,  mixed  in  tur- 
pentine and  a very  little  linseed  oil;  put  on  thin 
coats,  so  as  not  to  show  brush  marks;  use  a fitch 
brush,  or  at  least  a fine  bristle  chiseled  brush.  When 
dry,  rub  down  with  sandpaper  and  flow  on  a coat  of 
thin  white  shellac.  This  is  to  keep  back  the  oil  in 
the  lead  coats,  and  prevent  chemical  action  between 
the  lead  and  zinc  coats.  Next,  put  on  two  or  more 
coats  of  French  zinc  ground  in  damar  varnish; 
enough  at  least,  to  get  a clear  white.  Thin  with  turps 
and  a little  damar  varnish,  and  put  on  thin  enough  to 
show  no  laps  or  brush  marks. 

Then  put  on  a coat  or  two  of  French  zinc  ground 
in  damar  varnish,  thinned  with  1 part  damar  varnish 
and  2 parts  turpentine.  Next  put  on  a coat  of  damar 
varnish  mixed  with  a little  zinc  ground  in 
damar,  just  enough  to  make  the  varnish  white.  Flow 
on  a coat,  and  be  careful  that  it  does  not  run  on 
your  work.  To  avoid  runs  always  commence  at  the 
top  of  a panel  with  a full  brush  and  work  down  so 


Practical  House  Painter. 


53 


as  not  to  have  a surplus  in  the  lower  corners  of  the 
panels;  this  applies  to  all  parts  of  the  work.  It  is 
quite  a knack  to  put  on  a full  coat  of  this  varnish 
and  zinc,  and  not  have  it  run. 

In  all  cases  put  on  enough  zinc  coats  to  make  a 
clear  white  before  you  put  on  the  varnish.  The  small 
quantity  of  zinc  is  put  in  the  varnish  to  take  off 
the  yellow  tinge,  and  to  keep  it  from  turning  yellow. 
Use  lead  putty.  See  recipes  to  make  it  on  another, 
page. 

ANOTHER  WAY. 

Very  hard  and  white,  for  parlors. — To  prepare 
the  wood  for  the  finish,  if  it  be  pine,  give  one  or 
two  coats  of  the  “Varnish — Transparent  for  wood,” 
which  prevents  the  pitch  from  oozing  out,  causing  the 
finish  to  turn  yellow;  next,  give  the  room,  at  least, 
four  coats  of  pure  zinc,  which  may  be  ground  in 
only  sufficient  oil  to  enable  it  to  grind  properly; 
then  mix  to  a proper  consistency  with  turpentine  or 
naphtha.  Give  each  coat  time  to  dry.  When  it  is 
dry  and  hard,  sandpaper  it  to  a perfectly  smooth 
surface,  when  it  is  ready  to  receive  the  finish,  which 
consists  of  two  coats  of  French  zinc  ground  in,  and 
thinned  with  damar  varnish,  until  it  works  properly 
under  the  brush. 

LEAD  POISONING HOW  TO  AVOID  IT. 

White  lead  may  enter  the  human  system  in  three 
ways,  to-wit : Through  the  stomach,  the  lungs  and 


54 


Practical  House  Painter. 


the  skin.  In  other  words,  it  may  be  eaten,  inhaled 
or  absorbed,  hence  the  stomach,  lungs  and  skin 
should  each  be  carefully  guarded  against  it.  To 
guard  the  stomach,  through  which  you  are  in  the 
most  danger  of  taking  in  the  poison,  make  it  a rule 
to  keep  the  mouth  closed  as  much  as  possible  when 
using  white  lead,  and  especially  when  sandpapering . 
Make  it  a rule  to  never  eat  or  drink  without  first 
carefully  cleansing  your  lips,  and  carefully  removing 
the  paint  from  your  hands  before  eating./  Tobacco 
chewers,  who  carry  tobacco  in  their  pockets,  are  in 
especial  danger  of  lead  poison,"  if  working  in  paint, 
because  the  tobacco  becomes  more  or  less  poisoned 
with  lead  from  the  fingers,  if  the  painter  is  not  care- 
ful to  clean  his  hands  before  taking  a chew.  There 
is  no  great  danger  from  inhaling  white  lead,  except 
when  sandpapering,  or  when  dusting  after  sand- 
papering. 

It  is  a pretty  good  thing  to  carefully  guard  the 
nose  with  a damp  sponge  while  sandpapering,  and 
to  carefully  free  the  nostrils  from  lead.  There  is 
no  danger  of  poisoning  by  absorption  through  the 
skin,  unless  the  painter  is  careless.  When  I see 
some  men  at  work,  I wonder  how  they  can  possibly 
escape  lead  poisoning.  Their  clothing  glazed  with  oil 
paint,  their  hands  daubed  to  the  wrist  by  grasping 
the  brush  by  the  head,  instead  of  by  the  handle;  or 
by  general  carelessness  in  mixing  and  handling 
paints. 


Practical  House  Painter. 


55 


SYMPTOMS  OF  LEAD  POISON. 

Tired  feeling,  wakefulness  at  night,  neuralgic 
pains,  "shaky”  hands,  constipated  bowels,  bad  taste 
in  the  mouth,  and  pain  in  the  bowels,  a blue  edge  on 
the  gums,  and  a coated  tongue.  If  you  get  the 
colic,  see  a doctor ; for  the  other  symptoms,  get  away 
from  paint  for  a while  if  possible,  and  take  the 
following : Iodide  of  potash,  oz. ; syrup  sarsaparilla, 
8 oz.  Dose : — Teaspoonful  three  or  four  times  a day 
in  half  a cup  of  milk.  Eat  graham  mush  and  drink 
milk. 

TO  FINISH  FURNITURE  AND  OTHER  WORK  IN  SIX- 
TEENTH CENTURY  OAK. 

First  fill  the  wood  with  any  good  filler.  Fill  it 
well,  then  take  Vandyke  brown  3 parts,  and  burnt 
sienna  1 part,  and  mix  to  a stiff  paste  with  boiled 
oil  and  japan,  and  thin  with  turpentine,  until  you 
can  brush  it  on  the  wood,  and  not  have  it  look  dauby 
or  muddy.  Give  the  work  a light  coat,  and  brush 
it  out  well  and  carefully.  Too  much  pigment  will 
make  your  work  too  dark.  Wherever  you  want  the 
light  or  worn  spots  to  appear,  wipe  off  the  stain 
with  a cloth,  and  with  a badger  blender  carefully 
blend  the  stain  into  the  edges  of  the  worn  or  light 
spots.  Don't  stain  too  much  at  once,  for  fear  your 
stain  may  set  so  you  cannot  wipe  out  and  blend. 
When  the  stain  is  dry,  sandpaper  lightly  with  No.  0 
paper.  Finish  with  two  coats  rubbing  varnish,  or 


56 


Practical  House  Painter. 


with  hard  oil  finish.  Polish  with  rotten  stone  and 
raw  oil. 

A SUPERIOR  GLUE  ( WATERPROOF)  . 

A very  superior  article  may  be  made  by  dissolv- 
ing 3 parts  of  india  rubber  in  30  parts  of  naphtha; 
heat  and  agitation  will  be  required  to  effect  the 
solution;  when  the  rubber  is  completely  dissolved, 
add  64  parts  of  finely  powdered  shellac,  which  must 
also  be  heated  in  the  above  mixture  until  all  is  dis- 
solved. This  mixture  may  be  produced  in  sheets  like 
glue  by  pouring  it  while  hot  upon  plates  of  metal, 
where  it  will  harden.  When  required  for  use,  it 
may  simply  be  heated  in  a pot  till  soft.  Two  pieces 
of  wood  or  leather,  joined  together  with  this  glue, 
can  scarcely  be  sundered  without  a fracture  of  the 
parts. 

A VALUABLE  CEMENT. 

We  find  the  following  recipe  good:  The  compound 
of  glycerin,  oxide  of  lead,  and  red  lead,  for  mending 
cast-iron  that  has  been  fractured  with  the  happiest 
results.  It  takes  some  little  time  to  dry,  but  turns 
almost  as  hard  as  stone,  and  is  fire  and  waterproof. 
For  mending  cracks  in  stone  or  cast-iron  ware, 
where  iron  filling  cannot  be  had,  we  think  it  is  in- 
valuable. Take  litharge  and  red  lead,  equal  parts, 
mix  thoroughly  and  make  into  a paste  with  concen- 
trated glycerin  to  the  consistency  of  soft  putty,  fill 
the  crack  and  smear  a thin  layer  on  both  sides  of  the 


Practical  House  Painter. 


57 


easting  so  as  to  completely  cover  the  fracture.  This 
layer  can  be  rubbed  off,  if  necessary,  when  nearly  dry, 
by  an  old  knife  or  chisel. 

LINSEED  OIL  AND  IKON  RUST. 

The  oleaginous  principle  of  linseed  oil  is  said  to 
be  in  the  nature  of  neutral  salts  called  linolein,  con- 
sisting of  linoleic  acid  combined  with  a glycerine 
base.  Linolein  is  said  by  some  writers  to  constitute 
three-fourths  of  the  volume  of  linseed  oil,  and  that 
the  drying  properties  of  the  oil  reside  in  the  acid 
principle  of  the  linolein ; that  is,  linoleic  acid  has  the 
property  of  attracting  and  combining  with  oxygen 
to  form  the  substance  known  as  dry  linseed  oil.  This 
acid  is  said  to  be  a compound  of  several  different 
acid  principles,  combined  in  definite  proportions. 
Writers  seem  to  disagree  as  to  what  the  acids  are, 
and  in  what  respect  they  differ  from  the  acid  prop- 
erties of  the  non-drying  fixed  oils,  but  that  is  a 
question  which  need  not  be  discussed  here.  The 
glycerine  base  of  linolein  seems  to  be  common  to  all 
fixed  oils,  and  is  set  down  as  an  oxide  consisting  of 
one  equivalent  of  water  and  five  of  oxygen;  hence 
the  affinity  between  the  linoleic  acid  and  its  glycerine 
base. 

Linoleic  acid,  like  other  acids,  has  an  affinity  for 
alkalies  and  the  ordinary  metallic  oxides.  It  unites 
with  them,  forming  neutral  compounds.  This  affin- 
ity is  said  to  be  electrical;  the  alkalies  and  oxides 


Practical  House  Painter*. 


58 

electro-positive,  and  the  acid  electro-negative.  The 
greater  the  contrast  in  this  respect,  the  stronger  the 
affinity ; hence,  some  acids  separate  others  from 
their  bases  and  form  new  salts  by  precipitation.  As 
an  instance: 

Drop  sulphuric  acid  ipto  a solution  of  acetate  of 
lead.  It  will  displace  the  acetic  acid,  form  sulphate 
of  lead  and  precipitate,  leaving  the  liberated  acetic 
acid  in  solution.  In  linolein,  this  acid  is  so  consti- 
tuted that  the  affinity,  or  attraction  between  it  and 
its  glycerine  base,  is  too  feeble  to  resist  and  keep 
back  the  oxygen  of  the  air;  hence,  when  linseed  oil 
is  exposed  to  the  air  in  a thin  layer,  oxygen  unites 
with  its  linoleic  acid,  and  this  process  continues  un- 
til the  oil  becomes  dry  to  the  touch.  Beyond  this 
point  the  process  is  slower,  because  the  oil  is  now 
less  penetrable;  but  the  process  goes  on  until  the 
layer  of  oil  becomes  hard  and  brittle,  no  matter 
with  what  pigment  it  may  be  mixed,  although  the 
pigment  may  for  a time  retard  the  action  of  the 
destroying  elements. 

Linseed  oil  dries  too  slowly  for  general  use  by  the 
painter,  hence  various  ways  have  been  devised  to 
hasten  the  drying  process.  If  the  foregoing  theory 
is  correct,  the  process  which  will  cause  the  oil  to 
dry  to  a good  wearing  body  in  the  time  desired,  and 
leave  it  in  the  best  condition  to  resist  the  action  of 
the  elements  and  the  absorption  of  oxygen,  is  the 
best.  I regard  the  lead  oxides  as  the  best  dryers 


Practical  House  Painter. 


50 


for  this  purpose — at  least  according  to  my  experi- 
ence. When  we  add  an  oxide  to  linseed  oil  as  a 
dryer  in  the  small  quantity  which  experience  has 
taught  us  is  best  to  use,  it  is  evident  that  it  is  not 
sufficient  in  itself  to  oxidize  the  whole  of  the  oil  to 
an  appreciable  extent.  Writers  differ  as  to  the  pecu- 
liar action  of  the  oxides  upon  the  oil,  but  I think  it 
safe  to  say  that  the  dryer  sets  up  some  chemical  re- 
action which  increases  the  affinity  between  the  lino- 
lein  and  the  oxygen  of  the  atmosphere;  at  any  rate, 
there  is  no  dispute  upon  the  point  that  linseed  oil 
in  drying  absorbs  a large  per  cent  of  oxygen. 

A knowledge  of  this  unanimously  conceded  point 
led  me  to  believe  that  a coat  of  pure  linseed  oil 
might  make  the  best  possible  priming  coat  for  iron 
work  which  had  commenced  to  rust.  Why^  Be- 
cause iron  rust  is  an  oxide  of  iron,  having  an  excess 
of  oxygen.  Spread  on  rusty  iron,  it  penetrates  the 
rust,  absorbs  its  excess  of  oxygen  and  dries  with  the 
remaining  neutral  oxide  held  fast  in  its  body.  This 
is  my  theory;  whether  correct  or  not,  numerous 
tests  have  proved  to  me  that  a coat  of  linseed  oil 
will  stop  the  rusting  of  iron  if  applied  under  proper 
conditions.  When  rust  is  thick  or  scaling  there  is 
no  safety  short  of  taking  it  off.  Iron  rust  is  more 
or  less  hydrated ; to  free  it  from  moisture,  give  it  the 
flame  of  the  gasoline  paint  burner. 


60 


Practical  House  Painter. 


WHITE  ENAMEL  (SELECTED) . 

First,  the  wood  is  primed  with  a composition  con- 
sisting of  three  parts  of  turpentine  and  one  part  of 
oil,  japan  gold  size  being  used  as  a dryer.  On  this 
drying  thoroughly  the  work  is  rubbed  down  until 
perfectly  smooth.  Next  are  applied  two  or  three 
coats  of  pure  white  lead  mixed  entirely  flat;  each 
coat  is  rubbed  down,  time  being  allowed  for  it  to 
dry.  Equal  parts  of  lead  and  zinc  are  used  for  the 
next  coat,  and  three-fourths  zinc  and  one-fourth 
lead  for  the  one  succeeding.  After  this  has  become 
thoroughly  hard  it  is  rubbed  down  very  smooth.  A 
thin  coat  of  color  made  of  zinc  and  turpentine  is  now 
rubbed  on;  for  the  next  coat  the  same  flat  color  is 
used,  with  the  addition  of  about  one-half  the  quan- 
tity of  good  light  coach  varnish.  For  the  last  coat 
enough  zinc  is  used  in  the  varnish  to  make  it  white 
if  the  last  coat  of  zinc  is  not  white  and  solid  before 
varnishing.  If  the  work  is  to  be  gilded  or  striped 
the  zinc  must  be  left  out  of  the  last  coat  of  varnish. 

VARNISH  TO  IMITATE  GROUND  GLASS. 

An  expert  has  sent  the  following  to  the  British 
Journal  of  Photography : To  make  a varnish  to  imi- 
tate ground  glass,  dissolve  90  gains  sandrac  and  20 
grains  of  mastic  in  2 ounces  of  washed  methylated 
ether,  and  add,  in  small  quantities,  a sufficiency  of 
benzine  to  make  it  dry  with  a suitable  grain — too 
little  making  the  varnish  too  transparent,  and  ex- 


Practical  House  Painter, 


61 


cess  making  it  crapy.  The  quantity  of  benzine  re- 
quired depends  upon  its  quality — from  half  an  ounce 
to  an  ounce  and  a half,  or  even  more;  but  the  best 
results  are  got  with  a medium  quality.  It  is  im- 
portant to  use  washed  ether,  free  from  spirit. 

VARNISH  FOR  RUSTIC  WORK. 

One  quart  of  boiled  linseed  oil  and  two  ounces  of 
asphaltum,  to  be  boiled  on  a slow  fire  until  the 
asphaltum  is  dissolved,  being  kept  stirred  to  prevent 
its  boiling  over.  This  gives  a fine  dark  color,  is  not 
sticky,  and  looks  well  for  a year ; or,  first  wash  the 
article  with  soap 'and  water,  and  when  dry,  on  a 
sunny  day  do  it  over  with  common  boiled  linseed 
oil;  leave  that  to  dry  a day  or  two,  then  varnish 
it  over  once  or  twice  with  hard  varnish.  If  well 
done  this  will  last  for  years  and  prevent  annoyance 
from  insects. 

TO  CLEAN  VERY  DIRTY  BRASS. 

Eub  some  bi-chromate  of  potassa  fine,  pour  over 
it  about  twice  its  bulk  of  sulphuric  acid,  and  mix 
this  with  an  equal  quantity  of  water.  The  dirtiest 
brass  is  cleaned  in  a trice.  Wash  right  off  in  plenty 
of  water,  wipe  it  and  rub  perfectly  dry,  and  polish 
with  powdered  rotten  stone. 

TO  COUNTERFEIT  TORTOISE  SHELL  VERY  FINELY. 

In  order  to  do  this  well,  your  foundation  or 
ground-work  must  be  perfectly  smooth  and  white, 


62 


Practical  House  Painter. 


or  nearly  so,  you  then  gild  it  with  silver  leaf  with  slow 
size,  so  as  to  have  it  perfectly  smooth  with  no  ragged 
edges,  cleaning  the  loose  leaf  off.  Then  grind  co- 
logne earth  very  fine,  and  mix  it  with  gum  water, 
common  size ; and  with  this,  you  having  added  more 
gum  water  than  it  was  ground  with,  spot  or  cloud 
the  ground  work,  having  a fine  shell  to  imitate;  and 
when  this  is  done,  you  will  perceive  several  reds, 
lighter  and  darker,  appear  on  the  edges  of  the  black, 
and  many  times  lie  in  streaks  on  the  transparent 
part  of  the  shell.  To  imitate  this  finely,  grind 
dragon’s  blood  with  gum  water,  and  with  a fine 
pencil  draw  those  warm  reds,  flushing  it  in  about  the 
dark  places  more  thickly,  but  fainter  and  fainter  and 
thinner,  with  less  color  towards  the  lighter  parts, 
so  sweetening  it  that  it  may  in  a manner  lose  the 
red,  being  sunk  in  the  silver  or  more  transparent 
parts.  When  it  is  dry,  give  it  a coat  of  varnish, 
let  it  stand  for  a few  days,  then  rub  it  down  with 
pumice  stone  and  water.  Then  grind  gamboge  very 
fine,  and  mix  with  varnish,  giving  of  this  as  many 
coats  as  will  cause  the  silver  to  have  a golden  color, 
then  finish  with  a clean  coat  of  varnish. 

PEICE  LIST. 

The  prices  of  labor,  and  cost  of  material  vary  so 
much  in  different  localities  that  it  seems  impossible 
to  make  a reliable  price  list  for  general  work.  The 
position,  condition,  and  shape  of  different  jobs  all 


Practical  House  Painter. 


63 


go  towards  making  a general  price  list,  an  unreliable 
guide ; also  the  quality  of  work  demanded  may  make 
50  per  cent  difference  in  price.  I have  half  a dozen 
printed  price  lists  before  me,  and  they  generally 
agree  to  about  the  following  prices  for  painting  and 
glazing,  to-wit: 

Per  Yard. 

1  coat  on  new  work 8 to  10  cents 

1 coat  on  old  work.... .10  to  18  cents 

2 coats  on  new  work. 18  to  20  cents  * 

2 coats  on  old  work 20  to  25  cents 

3 coats  on  new  work 25  to  28  cents 

Brick  walls,  2 coats 20  to  30  cents 

Penciling  10  to  15  cents 

PRIMING  AND  GLAZING  SASH. 

Per  Light. 

10x14  and  under 5 to  6 cents 

12x16 7 to  9 cents 

14x24 .10  to  12  cents 

18x24 15  to  18  cents 

24x30 ^ 20  to  25  cents 

36x40 35  to  50  cents 

For  old  work  where  the  old  putty  is  in  the  sash, 
multiply  the  above  figures  by  3 or  4.  When  called 
out  to  the  house  to  set  a light  or  two  charge  for 
time  and  material.  Most  work  of  this  kind  is  done 
at  least  30  per  cent  below  the  above  prices. 

I quote  below  a price  list  for  sign  painters,  from 
a very  complete  report  on  painters5  prices  and  meas- 
urements, generally,  by  one  of  the  ablest  of  local 
associations  of  master  painters  and  decorators: 


64 


Practical  House  Painter. 


JAPANNED  TIN  SIGNS. 

Gold.  Plain . 

3x14  inches $1.25  $ .75 

6x  8 inches 1.50  .75 

8x10  inches 1.75  1.00 

10x14  inches 2.50  1.50 

11x17  inches 3.00  2.00 

11x17  inches,  3 lines 3.50  2.55 

14x20  inches 4.00  2.50 

14x20  inches,  3 lines 4.50  3.00 

18x24  inches..... 6.00  3.50 

18x24  inches,  3 lines 7.00  4.00 

Frames  additional. 

' GLASS  SIGNS  ON  WINDOWS  AND  DOORS. 

In  Silver  or  Gold  Per  Foot . 

Letters  up  to  6 inches  in  height $ .75 

Letters  6 to  10  inches  in  height.  .......  1.00 

Letters  10  to  14  inches  in  height 1.50 

Shaded,  one  color,  25  per  cent  extra. 

DRUM  SIGNS. 

Gold.  Plain. 

10x14  inches $ 3.50  $ 2.50 

11x17  inches 4.00  3.00 

14x20  inches 5.00  3.50 

18x24  inches 7.00  5.00 

20x24  inches 8.50  6.50 

24x30  inches 10.00  7.00 

30x36  inches. 12.00  8.50 

36x48  inches 15.00  10.00 

The  above  include  moulding  and  urns  and 
putting  up. 

Drilling  holes  in  iror  extra. 


Practical  House  Painter. 


MUSLIN  SIGNS. 

Per  Foot . 


Up  to  1 foot  high,  black 8 cents 

1 to  2 feet,  black 10  cents 

2 to  3 feet,  black 12  cents 


Colored  one-half  extra. 

Muslin  furnished. 

Frames  extra. 

OIL  CLOTH  SIGNS. 

Per  Foot . 


Up  to  1 foot 20  cents 

1 to  2 feet 25  cents 

2 to  3 feet 30  cents 


Oil  cloth  furnished. 

Frames  extra. 

BOARD  SIGNS. 


Including  three  coats  of  paint  and  lettering. 


Gold. 

Plain. 

6 inches  x 4 

feet 

$ 4.00 

$ 2.50 

8 inches  x 6 

feet 

5.00 

3.50 

10  inches  x 8 

feet 

6.00 

4.00 

1 foot  x 12 

feet 

7.50 

5.00 

1 foot  x 15 

feet 

8.50 

5.00 

14  inches  x 16 

feet 

8.50 

5.00 

14  inches  x 18 

feet 

9.00 

6.00 

14  inches  x 20 

feet 

9.50 

6.00 

16  inches  x 16 

feet 

6.00 

16  inches  x 18 

feet 

10.00 

6.00 

18  inches  x 18 

feet 

10.00 

6.00 

18  inches  x 20 

feet 

12.00 

7.00 

18  inches  x 24 

feet 

......  15.00 

7.00 

18  inches  x 30 

feet 

18.00 

8.00 

Board  extra. 

Irons  and  putting  up  extra. 

Shading,  25  per  cent  additional,  one  color. 


66 


Practical  House  Painter. 


WALL  SIGNS. 

Two  coats  of  paint  and  lettering.  Extra  coat,  1 cent 
per  square  foot  additional. 


2x16  feet $ 6.00 

2x20  feet 7.00 

2x24  feet 8.00 

2x30  feet 10.50 

3x16  feet 8.00 

3x20  feet 10.00 

3x24  feet 12.00 

3x30  feet 14.00 

4x16  feet 9.00 

4x20  feet 12.00 

4x24  feet 13.00 

4x30  feet 15.00 

6x16  feet 12.00 

6x20  feet 14.00 

6x24  feet 16.00 

6x30  feet 18.00 

8x16  feet... 14.00 

8x20  feet 16.00 

8x24  feet 18.00 

8x30  feet 20.00 

10x12  feet 10.00 

10x16  feet 13.00 

10x20  feet 16.00 

10x24  feet 19.00 

10x30  feet 22.00 

12x16  feet 14.00 

12x20  feet  — 18.00 

12x24  feet 20.00 

12x30  feet 25.00 

14x20  feet 20.00 

14x24  feet 24.00 

14x30  feet 28.00 


Practical  House  Painter. 


67 


16x24  feet $26.00 

16x30  feet 39.00 

20x24  feet 30.00 

20x30  feet 35.00 

20x40  feet 40.00 

21x30  feet 37.00 

24x36  feet * 42.00 

24x40  feet 48.00 

30x40  feet 60.00 

30x50  feet 70.00 

30x60  feet 80.00 

SHOW  CARDS. 

1 sheet,  22x25 $ 1.50 

1 sheet,  14x22 75 

1 sheet,  11x14 50 


The  above  prices  are  based  upon  white  lead  at  7 cents  per 
pound  and  wages  at  33$  cents  an  hour. 

MIDSUMMER  PAINTING. 

All  things  considered,  which  is  the  best  time  of  the 
year  to  do  outside  painting?  Spring  and  fall,  did 
you  say?  Well,  yes.  I know  nearly  all  painters  think 
so,  and  the  people  outside  the  trade  are  almost,  if 
not  quite,  unanimous  in  holding  the  same  opinion. 
But  why?  Do  the  winds  of  March,  the  frequent 
showers  of  April  and  May  add  very  much  to  the 
pleasure  and  profit  of  doing  outside  work  in  spring  ? 
Do  the  soaking  rains,  which  come  along  about  the 
time  of  the  vernal  equinox  and  drive  you  off  your 
job  for  a week  or  two  and  watersoak  your  unprimed 
work,  add  much  pleasure  to  your  recollections  of 


68 


Practical  House  Painter. 


spring  painting?  Do  you  remember  anything  about 
the  clouds  of  midges  and  thousands  of  little  moths 
which  filled  the  air,  ready  and  willing  to  decorate 
your  paint  with  their  little  bodies  on  every  still, 
warm  mid-day  in  April  and  May?  Of  course,  we 
are  speaking  now  of  climatic  conditions  from 
our  own  standpoint,  the  great  Northwest,  which  may 
also  be  true  in  the  Middle  and  New  England  states. 
The  mornings  and  evenings  of  spring  and  fall  are 
apt  to  be  cool — often  frosty ; then  the  oil  stiffens  and 
the  paint  rubs  out  hard  and  goes  on  slow,  and  we 
lose  time  and  work  harder.  Practically,  I favor  mid- 
summer for  outside  work,  because  the  temperature  is 
more  uniformly  warm  and  the  paint  spreads  easily 
and  evenly  at  any  time  of  day,  and  as  a rule  the 
rains  are  less  frequent  and  give  a longer  warning  of 
their  approach.  The  little  black  flies  are  not  so 
plentiful  in  the  hot  days  of  summer  as  they  are  in 
spring  and  early  fall.  They  are  either  dead  or  seek 
the  shade  of  trees  and  grass.  The  dew  is  all  gone 
in  summer  before  seven  o’clock  a.  m.,  and  does  not 
commence  to  fall  until  after  quitting  time.  A car- 
pet of  grass  and  other  vegetation  covers  a large  por- 
tion of  the  ground  in  summer,  holding  down  the 
dust.  The  winds  are  not  usually  so  high  and  gusty 
in  summer  as  they  are  in  the  spring  and  fall.  In 
the  warm  days  of  summer  your  work  is  more  apt  to 
dry  quickly,  cleanly  and  evenly;  and  when  you 
“knock  off”  from  work  at  six  p.  m.,  and  the  sun  is 


Practical  House  Painter. 


69 


yet  two  hours  above  the  horizon,  you  know  that  your 
last  ground  stretch  will  soon  be  out  of  the  way  of 
dust  and  rain.  In  the  hot  weather  of  summer  the 
pores  of  the  wood  are  all  open,  and  the  oil,  which  is 
then  soft  and  thin,  goes  farther  into  the  wood  than 
in  spring  and  fall,  when  the  weather  is  cool.  There 
are,  it  is  true,  some  fine  days  in  the  fall  for  outside 
work,  but  the  rainy  season  of  the  autumnal  equinox 
and  the  frosty  nights  of  the  later  months  often  re- 
tard your  work  and  mar  the  finish  of  your  job.  One 
objection  urged  against  summer  painting  is  the 
flies,  but  really  are  the  flies  which  injure  paint  any 
more  numerous  in  midsummer  than  they  are  in 
spring  and  fall?  It  is  true  the  festive  house-fly  is 
in  his  glory  in  the  summer,  but,  as  a rule,  he  is  too 
smart  tp  get  stuck,  in  outside  paint.  To  get  inside 
is  his  ambition,  and  the  molasses-cup  and  sugar- 
bowl  are  his  objective  points.  If  the  house-fly  is  an 
objection  in  the  summer,  it  certainly  is  a greater  one 
in  the  fall,  for  in  September  and  early  in  October 
they  are  thicker,  saucier  and  more  familiar  than  at 
any  other  time  of  year;  then  they  want  not  only  to 
get  at  the  sugar,  but  to  get  . in  and  warm.  - 

A correspondent  asks:  “Does  the  reader  know 
from  practical  experiment  that  one  season  is  better 
than  another  for  applying  outside  paint  ?”  I sup- 
pose the  writer  means  the  effect  upon  the  wearing 
qualities  of  the  paint  and  the  permanency  of  the 
color.  I .have  been  experimenting  for  a practical 


70 


Practical  House  Painter. 


solution  of  this  question  for  my  own  satisfaction 
and  guidance,  and  have  come  to  the  conclusion  that 
paint  put  on  the  outside  in  the  hot  weather  of  sum- 
mer will  wear  as  well  and  hold  its  color  as  long  as 
paint  put  on  in  the  cooler  days  of  spring  and  fall. 
I know  the  idea  that  paint  dries  too  fast  in  hot 
weather  is  almost  universal,  but  I think  it  grows 
largely  from  the  fact  that  a quick-drying  paint  is 
not  as  good  for  outside  as  a slow  dryer ; but  you  must 
remember  that  there  is  a great  difference  between  a 
quick-drying  paint  and  drying . a slow  paint  as 
quickly  as  the  ingredients  will  admit  of.  Linseed 
oil  dries  or  hardens  by  absorbing  oxygen  from  the 
air,  and  that  process  goes  on  more  rapidly  in  hot 
weather  than  in  cool  weather,  because  the  air  in  hot 
weather  is  in  a condition  more  freely  to  part  with 
its  oxygen,  or  because  the  oil  is  in  a better  condition 
to  receive  it,  or  both.  In  other  words,  a warm  atmos- 
phere hastens  the  process  of  absorption  and  a 
cool  air  retards  it,  but  in  either  case  the  result  is 
the  same:  the  air  gives  up  enough  of  its  oxygen  to 
solidify  the  oil.  Now,  the  question  arises,  can  any 
difference  be  discovered,  (chemical  or  otherwise)  in 
the  composition  of  the  paint,  whether  dried  in  warm 
or  cool  air?  From  a business-point  of  view,  I have 
long  advocated  summer  as  a good  time  to  paint  out- 
side, and  have  usually  succeeded  in  converting  cus- 
tomers to  my  views  upon  the  subject,  and  as  a con- 
sequence have  not  often  had  a dull  time  in  mid- 


Practical  House  Painter.  71 

summer.  We  painters  in  the  country  know  how  un- 
pleasant and  unprofitable  it  is  to  have  all  the  work 
of  the  year  rushed  upon  us  in  the  spring  and  fall, 
and  I think  if  painters  generally  could  convince 
themselves  by  practical  experiment  that,  all  things 
considered,  summer  time  is  the  best  season  of  the 
year  to  do  outside  work,  and  advocate  the  same  to 
their  customers,  backed  by  argument  and  practical 
illustration,  there  would  soon  be  less  need  of  com- 
plaint about  a dull  season  in  midsummer. 

TO  REMOVE  PAINT. 

1.  An  expeditious  way  is  by  chemical  process,  us- 
ing a solution  of  soda  and  quicklime  in  equal  pro- 
portions. The  soda  is  dissolved  in  water,  the  lime 
is  then  added,  and  the  solution  is  applied  with  a 
brush  to  the  old  paint.  A few  moments  are  suffi- 
cient to  remove  the  coats  of  paint,  which  may  be 
washed  off  with  hot  water.  The  oldest  paint  may  be 
removed  by  a paste  of  the  soda  and  quicklime.  The 
wood  should  be  afterwards  washed  with  vinegar  or 
an  acid  solution  before  repainting,  to  remove  all 
traces  of  alkali. 

2.  Wet  the  place  with  naphtha,  repeating  as  often 
as  required;  but  frequently  one  application  will  dis- 
solve the  paint.  As  soon  as  it  is  softened,  rub  the 
surface  clean.  Chloroform  mixed  with  a small 
quantity  of  spirit  ammonia,  composed  of  strong  am- 
moniac, has  been  employed  very  successfully  to  re- 


72 


Practical  House  Painter. 


move  the  stains  of  dry  paint  from  wood,  silk,  and 
other  substances. 

3.  To  remove  paint  from  floors. — Take  one  pound 
of  American  pearlash,  three  pounds  of  quickstone 
lime.  Slake  the  lime  in  water,  then  add  the  pearl- 
ash,  and  make  the  whole  amount  about  the  consist- 
ency of  paint.  Lay  the  mixture  over  the  whole  body 
of  the  work  which  is  required  to  be  cleaned,  with  an 
old  brush ; let  it  remain  for  twelve  or  fourteen  hours, 
when  the  paint  can  be  easily  scraped  off. 

TO  SOFTEN  PUTTY  AND  REMOVE  OLD  PAINT. 

1.  Take  three  pounds  of  quickstone  lime;  slake  the 
lime  in  water,  then  add  one  pound  of  American 
pearlash;  apply  this  to  both  sides  of  the  glass  and 
let  it  remain  for  twelve  hours,  when  the  putty  will 
be  softened,  and  the  glass  may  be  taken  out  without 
being  broken.  To  destroy  paint,  apply  it  to  the  whole 
body  which  is  required  to  be  cleaned;  use  an  old- 
brush,  as  it  will  spoil  a new  one ; let  it  remain  about 
twelve  or  fourteen  hours,  and  then  the  paint  may  be 
easily  scraped  off. 

2.  To  remove  paint  from  old  doors,  etc.,  and  to 
soften  putty  in  window  frames,  so  that  the  glass 
may  be  taken  out  without  breakage  or  cutting,  take 
one  pound  of  pearlash  and  three  pounds  of  quick- 
lime, slake  the  lime  in  water  and  then  add  the 
pearlash,  and  make  the  whole  about  the  consistency 
of  paint.  Apply  to  both  sides  of  the  glass  and  let  it 


Practical  House  Painter. 


73 


remain  for  twelve  hours,  when  the  putty  will  be  so 
softened  that  the  glass  may  be  taken  out  of  the 
frame  without  being  cut,  and  with  the  greatest  facil- 
ity. To  destroy  paint,  lay  the  above  over  the  whole 
body  of  the  work  which  is  required  to  be  cleaned, 
using  an  old  brush,  as  it  will  spoil  a new  one.  Let 
it  remain  for  twelve  or  fourteen  hours,  when  the 
paint  can  be  easily  scraped  off. 

3.  Paint  stains  on  glass. — American  potash,  3 
parts;  unslaked  lime,  1.  Lay  this  on  with  a stick, 
letting  it  remain  for  some  time,  and  it  will  remove 
either  tar  or  paint. 

TREATMENT  OF  DAMP  WALLS. 

There  are  two  classes  of  damp  walls,  first  where 
the  water  comes  in  from  the  outside  from  defective 
roofs,  bad  gutters,  defective  pipes,  and  where  it  comes 
through  the  walls  from  the  ground,  as  in  basements. 
In  the  other  class  we  may  include  walls  which  are 
dampened  by  condensation  of  moisture,  in  places 
shut  off  from  the  general  artificial  temperature  of 
the  room,  behind  stationary  furniture.  Such  walls 
may  dry  out  during  hot  weather,  or  they  may  be  kept 
damp  by  a growth  of  mold  or  fungus. 

When  water  comes  in  from  the  outside,  it  is  im- 
possible to  keep  paint  or  paper  on  the  wall  in  good 
shape.  Look  around  for  the  places  where  the  water 
comes  in,  point  it  out  to  the  owner,  and  if  he  fails 
to  stop  the  leak  have  it  understood  that  the  work  is 


Practical  House  Painter. 


u 

done  at  his  risk;  or,  what  is  better,  refuse  to  do  the 
work;  because,  when  a job  conies  off,  or  turns  out 
badly,  you  will  take  the  blame  generally,  no  matter 
whether  it  is  your  fault  or  not.  A job  may  be  made 
to  last  awhile  by  a waterproof  coating,  or  by  sheath- 
ing with  thin  lumber,  but  it  is  only  a question  of  time 
when  the  lining  material  will  become  water-soaked 
and  spoil  the  paint  or  paper,  to  your  discredit.  I 
have  usually  been  too  busy  to  take  jobs  of  this  kind. 
If  the  water  can  be  cut  off,  the  next  thing  is  to  dry 
the  wall,  which  you  can  do  at  the  surface  only  by 
setting  a stove  near  it,  or  with  the  flame  of  a paint 
burner;  then,  after  all  your  trouble,  the  water,  which 
remains  in  the  wall,  if  of  brick  or  stone,  may  find  its 
way  to  the  surface,  and  destroy  your  work.  Sheet 
lead  cemented  to  the  wall  will  answer  a good  purpose 
for  a time,  but  the  dampness  will  finally  destroy  the 
cement  and  let  the  metal  loose. 

Battening  out  for  lath  and  plaster  is  the  best  for 
basement  or  damp  stone  walls,  but  that  is  the  plas- 
terer’s work,  and  is  rarely  ever  done  except  in  pri- 
vate residences. 

Battening  and  canvasing  is  next  best;  nail  your 
battens  up  and  down  18  inches  apart.  Have  the 
canvas  stitched  in  sheets  the  right  size  to  cover  the 
large  blank  spaces  of  the  wall.  Then  stretch  and 
tack  it  on  the  battens,  and  give  it  a coat  of  glue  and 
alum  size. 


Practical  House  Painter. 


1 5 


When  dampness  is  caused  by  condensation  the  best 
remedy  is  to  remove  the  cause  and  dry  the  wall. 

TO  PAPER  ON  A BOARD  PARTITION. 

When  paper  is  pasted  on  boards,  it  must  crack, 
when  the  lumber  shrinks.  If  you  paste  cloth  over  the 
cracks,  it  must  crack,  if  the  cracks  open  further  than 
the  cloth  will  stretch.  When  you  tack  cloth  on  a 
partition  and  size  it,  if  the  size  goes  through  the 
cloth  and  sticks  it  fast  to  the  boards,  it  will  be  likely 
to  crack  when  the  lumber  shrinks.  For  a good  job 
I would  advise  that  you  first  cover  the  partition  with 
paper  tacked  on,  then  when  you  size  the  cloth,  it  will 
stick  to  the  paper,  and  not  to  the  boards.  I have  met 
with  uniform  success  in  this  way ; because  the  boards 
are  left  free  to  shrink  and  swell  without  breaking  the 
cloth  or  paper.  I like  to  sew  the  cloth  together  with 
a running  seam  in  pieces  large  enough  to  cover  all 
broad  spaces,  turn  the  smooth  side  out,  stretch  well, 
and  fasten  the  edges  only;  drive  the  tacks  an  inch 
from  the  edges  of  the  cloth,  so  that  you  can  fasten 
them  down  smoothly  with  paste.  When  a man  has 
been  unwise  enough  to  put  a board  partition  across 
one  end  of  an  otherwise  fine  room,  and  is  willing  to 
pay  for  his  folly:  first,  take  measurements  of  the 
blank  spaces,  and  sew  together  some  fairly  strong 
unbleached  muslin,  stretch  on  frames,  and  give  it  a 
coat  of  glue  and  alum  size,  and  whiting;  when  dry, 
carefully  fit  each  piece  in  its  place  and  tack  it  an 
inch  from  the  edges  and  fasten  the  edges  down 


76 


Practical  House  Painter. 


smooth  with  strong  flour  paste.  Tack  only  at  the 
edges,  and  if  you  are  careful  to  butt  edge  the  differ- 
ent pieces  over  the  doors,  etc.,  you  can  make  a nice 
smooth  job  in  this  way.  By  using  this  method  the 
paste  will  not  stick  the  cloth  to  the  wall.  Use  tinned 
tacks  to  prevent  rust. 

SANDPAPERING. 

This  is  a job  none  of  us  like  very  well,  but  since 
it  must  be  done,  it  is  worth  while  to  be  able  to  do 
it  to  the  best  advantage.  The  first  thing  to  look  for 
is  good  paper.  To  test  the  strength  of  the  sand,  rub 
two  pieces  together,  and  if  the  sand  don’t  fly  off,  it 
is  good  in  that  respect ; next  see  if  the  paper  is  tough 
and  will  not  tear  easily.  Chalk  the  back  of  your 
paper  before  you  double  it  and  it  will  not  slip. 
Don’t  lose  time  using  old,  worn-out  paper.  New 
paper  will,  of  course,  cut  faster  than  old  paper,  and 
the  difference  in  the  time  gained  by  using  sharp 
paper  will  pay  for  the  new  paper  twice  over.  Using 
old  dull  paper  is  like  trying  to  save  money  by  using 
an  old  stub  brush.  Better  use  up  fifty  cents’  worth 
of  paper  than  to  fool  away  dollars’  worth  of  time 
trying  to  save  money  by  using  old  paper. 

If  you  have  old,  hard  paint  to  cut  down,  which 
dry  sandpaper  will  not  touch,  keep  the  work  wet  with 
benzine,  and  you  will  be  surprised  to  see  how  fast 
the  sandpaper  will  cut  the  paint.  To  put  on  benzine 
use  a small  spring  bottomed  can,  such  as  is  used  for 
oiling  machinery.  You  can  use  any  grade  of  sandpa- 


Practical  House  Painter. 


77 


per,  and  it  will  not  soak  up  or  gum.  No.  1 paper  is  the 
best  for  this  purpose.  A good  deal  of  time  may  be 
lost  where  scrapers  could  be  used  to  much  better 
advantage.  A broad,  flat  scraper  to  shove  endwise  is 
always  in  order,  and  a few  narrow  ones  with  vari- 
ous shaped  ends  to  fit  in  headings,  moldings,  etc.,  are 
a great  help. 

A STENCILED  BORDER. 

This  makes  a nice  finish  for  a painted  or  kalso- 
mined  room.  To  make  it  look  at  its  best,  paint  a 
stripe  as  wide  as  your  stencil  in  a pleasant  contrast 
to  the  paint  on  the  room  and  put  the  stencil  on  that 
in  soft  harmonizing  colors. 

REPAINTING  SCALED  WORK. 

To  repaint  a job  which  has  commenced  to  scale, 
without  taking  off  all  the  old  paint,  is  very  uncertain 
work,  but  if  you  have  to  try  it,  have  it  understood  in 
writing,  or  before  witnesses,  that  it  is  done  at  the 
owner’s  risk.  First  scrape  off  the  loose  paint,  then 
go  over  the  job  with  raw  oil;  put  it  on  freely  and  let 
it  stand  until  dry ; then  scrape  off  all  the  paint  loos- 
ened by  the  oil,  and  coat  up  with  strictly  pure  white 
lead  and  oil.  Avoid  zinc,  and  mixtures  of  zinc,  and 
barytes,  on  jobs  of  this  kind;  because  they  are  more 
or  less  liable  to  crack,  and  pull  off  more  of  the  old 
paint.  White  lead  and  oil  lightly  tinted  will  hold 
it  if  anything  will.  Use  raw  oil  and  a little  good 
japan. 


78 


Practical  House  Painter. 


TO  MIX  WATER  COLORS. 

Light  weight  colors  which  will  not  mix  well  with 
water  may  be  easily  mixed  to  a stiff  paste  with  mo- 
lasses or  sirup,  then  mix  in  glue  size  for  a binder 
and  thin  with  water. 

TO  SIZE  MUSLIN  FOR  LETTERING. 

Use  a thin  size  of  white  glue  in  water,  or  a thin 
starch  paste.  For  a sign  to  stand  weather,  dissolve 
white  wax  in  turpentine  by  heat.  Melt  the  wax  in 
a kettle,  then  take  it  outside  and  by  degrees  add  suffi- 
cient spirits  of  turpentine  and  make  a thin  size. 

One  ounce  of  wax  to  the  quart  of  turps  is  about 
right.  Put  it  on  warm  with  a brush. 

ANOTHER  FOR  WHITE  WORK. 

Slake  a little  good,  fresh  lime  in  hot  water  and 
mix  a size  with  skim  milk.  Then  strain  through 
cheese  cloth.  This  size  is,  when  dry,  insoluble  in 
water  and  will  hold  lettering  as  long  as  the  cloth 
lasts,  May  be  tinted. 


Practical  House  Painter. 

4.  OLD  STYLE  EXTENDED. 


79 


A B C D E F 


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a b c d e f g h 
i j k 1 m n o 
p q r s t u.  v 
w x y z.  12  3 


4 5 6 7 8 9 0 


Practical  House  Painter. 


81 


TEST  OF  THE  PUKITY  OF  WHITE  LEAD. 

The  following  is  an  infallible  and  simple  commer- 
cial test  of  the  purity  of  white  lead : 

Take  a piece  of  firm,  close-grained  charcoal,  and 
near  one  end  of  it  scoop  out  a cavity  about  half  an 
inch  in  diameter  and  a quarter  of  an  inch  in  depth. 
Place  in  the  cavity  a sample  of  the  lead  to  be  tested, 
about  the'  size  of  a small  pea,  and  apply  to  it  con- 
tinuously the  blue  or  hottest  part  of  the  flame  of  the 
blow-pipe;  if  the  sample  be  strictly  pure  it  will,  in 
a very  short  time,  say  two  minutes,  be  reduced  to 
metallic  lead,  leaving  no  residue  ; but  if  it  be  adul- 
terated, even  to  the  extent  of  10  per  cent  only,  with 
oxide  of  zinc,  sulphate  of  baryta,  whiting  or  any  other 
carbonate  of  lime  (which  substances  are  the  prin- 
cipal adulterations  used),  or  if  it  be  composed  en- 
tirely of  these  materials,  as  is  sometimes  the  case  with 
cheap  lead  (so-called),  it  cannot  be  reduced,  but  will 
remain  on  the  charcoal  an  infuscatible  mass. 

A blow-pipe  can  be  obtained  from  any  jeweler  at 
small  cost.  An  alcohol  lamp,  star  candle,  or  a lard 
oil  lamp  furnishes  the  best  flame  for  use  of  the  blow- 
pipe. This  test  is  very  simple  and  anyone  can  very 
soon  learn  to  make  it  with  ease  and  skill. 

POLISH  TO  RENOVATE  VARNISHED  WORK. 

One  quart  good  vinegar,  2 ounces  butter  of  anti- 
mony, 2 ounces  alcohol,  1 quart  oil.  Shake  before 
using. 


82 


Practical  House  Painter. 


BRONZES — COLORS. 


White, 
Light  Gold, 
Lemon, 
Copper, 
Lilac, 


Dark  Gold, 
Orange, 
Carmine, 
Violet, 


Silver, 


Rich  Gold. 
Fire, 
Crimson, 
Brown, 


Flesh, 


Light  and  Dark  Greens. 


BLACK  VARNISH  FOR  IRON. 


Asphaltum,  2 pounds. 

Boiled  linseed  oil,  1 pint. 

Spirits  turpentine,  2 quarts. 

Melt  the  asphaltum  with  the  oil  in  an  iron  kettle. 
Stir  well  before  removing  from  the  fire.  When 
partly  cool  add  the  turpentine  and  a little  good 


japan. 


TO  FREE  BENZINE  FROM  ITS  OFFENSIVE  ODOR. 

To  deodorize  benzine,  add  3 ounces  quicklime  to 
the  gallon  of  benzine;  shake  well.  Let  the  lime  set- 
tle and  pour  off  and  filter  the  benzine. 

PAINT  TO  PREVENT  WOOD  EXPOSED  TO  THE  GROUND 
FROM  ROTTING. 

Take  of  linseed  oil,  4 parts;  whiting,  40  parts; 
rosin,  50  parts;  clean  sand,  300  parts;  heat  together 
in  a kettle  until  the  rosin  melts;  then  add  2 parts 
sulphate  of  copper;  the  mass  to  be  well  stirred,  and 
thinned  to  workable  consistency  with  linseed  oil. 


Practical  House  Painter. 


83 


RECIPES  FOR  BLACKBOARD  SLATING. 

Dissolve  1 pound  shellac  in  1 gallon  95  per  cent 
alcohol ; then  add  £ pound  best  powdered  ivory  black, 
5 ounces  finest  emery  flour,  2 ounces  ultramarine 
blue ; mix  well  and  keep  air  tight.  When  using  stir 
frequently.  If  thick  enough  to  show  brush  marks, 
add  more  alcohol;  work  quick  with  a fine  brush. 

TO  MAKE  A BLACKBOARD  ON  COMMON  PLASTER. 

Stop  all  cracks  and  holes  with  plaster  paris  mixed 
in  glue  size.  When  dry  sandpaper  until  all  is  smooth ; 
then  paper  the  wall  with  white  blank  wall  paper,  butt 
the  edges,  put  on  with  strong  paste,  and  be  careful  to 
rub  out  all  blisters.  When  dry  prime  with  oil  paint, 
then  sandpaper  with  fine  paper,  and  put  on  two  coats 
of  above  slating.  This  makes  an  excellent  black- 
board. Boards  which  I made  in  this  way  twenty 
years  ago  are  in  good  shape  yet,  and  will  last  for 
years  to  come  with  an  occasional  repainting. 

CHEAP  SLATING,  BUT  GOOD. 

Mix  lamp  black,  4 parts ; ultramarine  blue,  1 part, 
by  weight,  in  turpentine,  with  sufficient  good  japan 
and  a very  little  oil  to  bind  it,  then  add  one  part  by 
weight  of  fine  pumice-stone.  Have  it  thin  enough  to 
flow  on  £ind  not  leave  brush  marks. 

WATERPROOF  OIL  RUBBER  PAINT  FOR  CLOTH. 

Melt  2\  pounds  of  india  rubber  in  | gallon  of 
boiled  oil  by  boiling.  If  too  thick,  add  more  oil;  if 


84 


Practical  House  Painter. 


too  thin,  add  more  rubber,  and  a little  japan  to  dry 
it.  Apply  warm. 

TO  CLEAN  PAINT. 

Have  some  whiting  on  a plate,  then  dip  a piece  of 
flannel  in  warm,  soft  water  and  squeeze  nearly  dry, 
then  take  up  some  of  the  whiting  by  dipping  the 
flannel  in  it,  and  rub  the  paint  ufitil  it  looks  clean, 
then  rub  dry  with  a soft  cloth  or  chamois  skin. 

GOOD  QUICK  STAIN  FOR  A BRICK  CHIMNEY. 

For  red  stain,  take  Venetian  red,  2 parts;  yellow 
ochre,  1 part — both  dry — and  mix  with  skim  milk. 
For  yellow  stain,  use  water-lime,  tinted  with  yellow 
ochre.  Mix  as  above. 

Skim  milk  when  mixed  with  common  quicklime, 
Portland  cement,  or  Venetian  red,  is  converted  into 
an  insoluble  binder,  which  renders  the  mixture  water- 
proof, so  that  it  will  not  wash  off  when  wet ; neither 
will  it  rub  up  when  dry.  Other  pigments  can  be 
added,  by  way  of  coloring,  up  to  25  per  cent,  without 
affecting  the  insolubility  of  the  paint. 

For  a brick  wall,  which  has  not  been  rubbed  or 
painted,  Venetian  red  toned  down  with  yellow  ochre, 
beats  any  glue  and  acid  mixture  for  durability. 

TO  CLEAN  DOOR  PLATES. 

Put  on  with  a rag  a weak  solution  of  ammonia  in 
water,  and  rub  to  dryness. 


Practical  House  Painter. 


85 


TO  CLEAN  VARNISHED  PAINT. 

In  a gallon  of  water,  boil  a pound  of  wheat  bran, 
and  wash  the  varnish  with  the  water. 

SLOWING  THE  DRYING  OF  PAINT. 

In  wall  painting  or  otherwise,  especially  in  hot 
weather,  if  the  paint  dries  so  fast  as  to  show  laps 
in  spite  of  your  best  efforts  with  the  brush,  the  addi- 
tion of  a little  cotton  seed  oil  will  make  the  paint 
dry  slower  without  hurting  the  gloss;  or  if  you  are 
using  flat  color,  and  it  dries  too  fast,  a little  cotton 
seed  oil  will  make  it  dry  slower,  and  not  make  a 
gloss.  You  can,  by  a little  experiment,  determine 
how  much  of  cotton  seed  oil  to  use  in  each  case. 

FINE  BRONZE  FOR  METALS. 

Red  aniline  (fuchsine),  20  parts;  purple  aniline, 
10  parts;  95  per  cent  alcohol,  200  parts;  acid  ben- 
zoic, 10  parts.  Dissolve  the  colors  in  the  spirit  in  a 
porcelain  vessel  in  a water  or  sand  bath;  add  the 
acid  and  boil  until  the  mixture  changes  from  a green- 
ish color  to  a beautiful  bronze  color.  Lay  it  on  the 
bright  metal  with  a brush. 

REPAINTING  BLISTERED  DOORS. 

When  the  paint  commences  to  blister  or  scale  on  a 
door,  it  is  very  liable  to  keep  on  blistering  and  scal- 
ing from  time  to  time,  as  long  as  any  of  the  old  paint 
is  left  on  the  door,  no  matter  how  carefully  it  may  be 


86 


Practical  House  Painter. 


repainted,  because  in  most  cases  whatever  caused  the 
paint  to  scale  off  in  spots,  weakened  the  entire  coat 
of  paint  on  the  door,  making  it  liable  to  raise  up, 
or  come  off  in  other  places,  whenever  exposed  to  any 
extra  strain,  such  as  sun  heat,  or  the  drying  of  new 
coats  of  paint  or  varnish  over  it;  hence,  to  have  a 
sure  thing  on  painting  a scaled  or  blistered  door,  take 
off  all  the  old  paint.  Put  on  a thin  prime  of  pure 
white  lead  and  linseed  oil ; use  the  priming  sparingly 
and  rub  it  out  thin ; let  the  prime  dry  and  coat  up 
with  lead  and  oil  paint,  mixed  with  good  body;  put 
in  a little  turps  and  spread  the  paint  out  thin , so  it 
will  dry  solid;  rub  each  coat  in  the  same  way;  give 
each  coat  time  to  dry  solid.  For  work  to  be  var- 
nished, prime  as  above,  and  coat  up  flat.  I think 
blistering  is  often  caused  by  flowing  on  too  much 
paint  having  too  much  oil  in  it,  in  proportion  to  the 
pigment,  hence  it  does  not  dry  solid,  the  oil  is  soft- 
ened and  expanded  by  heat,  and  the  coating,  which  is 
more  of  an  oil  skin  than  a body  of  paint,  lets  go  its 
hold  on  the  wood  and  puffs  out  in  a blister  to  make 
room  for  the  softened  and  expanding  oil  skin.  If 
painters  will  mix  their  paint  with  good  body,  and  use 
more  elbow  grease  in  rubbing  it  out,  they  will  have 

less  trouble  with  blisters. 

«> 

FIREPROOF  PAINT  FOR  ROOFS,  ETC. 

A recipe  published  thirty  years  ago  in  the  Maine 
Farmer : 

Slake  stone  lime  by  putting  it  into  a tub  to  be 


Practical  House  Painter. 


87 


covered  to  keep  in  the  steam.  When  slacked  pass  the 
powder  through  a fine  sieve,  and  to  each  6 quarts 
of  it  add  1 quart  rock  salt,  and  water,  1 gallon ; then 
boil  and  skim  clean.  To  each  five  gallons  of  this  add 
pulverized  alum,  1 pound;  pulverized  copperas,  \ 
pound;  then  slowly  add  powdered  potash,  f pound; 
then  add  hardwood  ashes  sifted,  4 pounds;  now  add 
any  color  and  upply  with  a brush.  This  paint  stops 
small  leaks  in  roofs,  prevents  moss,  is  incombustible, 
and  renders  brick  waterproof.  It  is  durable  as  stone. 

VARNISH  FOR  IRON. 

Genuine  asphaltum  8 pounds,  melt  in  an  iron 
kettle,  slowly  adding  boiled  linseed  oil,  5 gallons; 
litharge,  1 pound,  and  sulphate  of  zinc,  \ pound; 
continue  to  boil  three  hours,  then  add  dark  gum 
amber,  pounds,  and  boil  two  hours  longer.  When 
cool  thin  with  turpentine  to  good  working  consist- 
ency. 

BLACK  VARNISH  FOR  IRON. 

Genuine  asphaltum  (not  coal  tar  imitation),  1 
pound ; lamp  black,  | pound ; rosin,  \ pound ; spirits 
turpentine,  1 quart.  Dissolve  the  asphaltum  and 
rosin  in  the  turpentine,  then  rub  up  the  lamp  black 
with  linseed  oil,  only  sufficient  to  form  a paste,  and 
mix  with  the  others. 

TO  MIX  DRY  LAMP  BLACK. 

First  cut  it  up  in  benzine  or  turpentine  to  a thick 
paste,  stir  well  and  add  linseed  oil ; if  the  black  is  to 


88 


Practical  House  Painter. 


be  used  as  an  oil  paint,  a little  at  first,  stir  well  and 
you  may  add  more.  In  this  way  you  will  have  no 
trouble  in  mixing  it  with  other  paint,  if  you  do  it 
when  the  paint  is  rather  stiff. 

TO  CLEAN  BRASS. 

One-half  ounce  oxalic  acid,  3 ounces  rotten  stone, 

1 ounce  gum  arabic,  each  in  powder;  made  into  a 
paste  with  sweet  oil.  Use  sparingly  and  rub  dry  with 
flannel. 

DIPPING  PAINT. 

Grind  dry  colors  in  japan  and  turps,  with  only 
enough  japan  to  bind  the  pigment.  When  dry  varnish, 
use  any  pigment  you  like,  or  use  bolted  whiting  and 
color  as  you  like. 

TO  MAKE  WAX  FINISH  FOR  FLOORS. 

Take  2 ounces  pearlash  and  2 pounds  white  wax. 
Slice  the  wax  thin,  and  boil  it  with  the  pearlash  in 

2 quarts  of  water;  stir  until  the  wax  is  melted  ami 
unites  with  the  water. 

Put  on  the  finish  with  a brush,  and  polish  with 
cloth  or  plush. 

This  finish  will  be  good  only  for  light  service. 

SPIRIT  VARNISHES. 

There  are  numerous  recipes  which  might  be  given 
here  for  making  the  fine  elastic  varnishes,  but  it 
would  not  be  practicable  for  the  painter  to  make 
them,  even  if  he  had  the  requisite  skill  and  experi- 


Practical  House  Painter. 


89 


ence,  but  with  spirit  varnishes  it  is  very  different,  and 
the  painter  can  make  them  by  a formula  as  well  as 
an  expert  can.  (For  formulas  for  white  and  orange 
shellac  varnish  see  article  on  wood  finishing.)  For 
inside  work,  where  the  family  is  living  at  the  time 
the  work  is  being  done,  the  alcohol  varnish  is  prefer- 
able. First,  because  it  dries  very  quickly,  and  second, 
because  it  is  free  from  sickening  or  disagreeable 
odors. 

Below  are  several  recipes  for  making  varnishes, 
which  dry  hard  and  lustrous.  The  spirit  used  is 
wood  or  grain  alcohol ; in  either  case,  the  spirit  should 
be  95  per  cent  proof. 

BROWN  HARD  SPIRIT  VARNISH  (SELECTED). 

1.  Sandarac,  1 pound;  shellac,  \ pound;  gum 
elemi,  4 ounces  \ Venice  turpentine,  4 ounces ; spirit, 
1 gallon. 

2.  Gum  sandarac,  1£  pounds;  shellac,  1 pound; 
spirit,  1 gallon.  After  the  gums  are  dissolved,  put 
in  rosin  turpentine  varnish,  1 pint.  This  makes  a 
good  varnish,  not  as  quick  drying  as  pure  spirit  var- 
nishes. 

A brown  varnish  may  be  made  by  mixing  shellac, 
pounds ; pale  rosin,  l\  pounds ; spirit,  2 gallons. 

WHITE  HARD  VARNISH. 

1.  Sandarac,  2\  pounds;  gum  thus,  1 pound;  spirit, 
1 gallon. 


90 


Practical  House  Painter. 


2.  Mastic,  pound;  sandarac,  2 pounds;  elemi 
gum,  4 ounces ; spirit,  1 gallon. 

3.  Mastic,  £ pound;  sandarac,  1 pound;  turps,  2 
ounces ; spirit,  1 gallon. 

These  are  all  prepared  by  mixing  and  setting  in 
a warm  place  until  the  gums  are  dissolved,  then  they 
are  ready  for  use.  Shake  occasionally.  For  fine  work 
strain  carefully. 

PURE  WHITE  VARNISHES. 

1.  Pale  manila  copal,  8 ounces;  gum  camphor, 
1 ounce;  mastic,  2 ounces;  Venice  turpentine,  1 
ounce;  spirit,  1 quart. 

2.  Sandarac,  8 ounces;  mastic,  2 ounces;  Canada 
balsam,  4 ounces;  spirit,  1 quart. 

3.  Sandarac,  8 ounces;  damar,  4 ounces;  gum 
thus,  8 ounces;  manila  copal,  8 ounces;  elemi,  8 
ounces ; spirit,  \ gallon.  This  is  a good  pale  article. 

4.  Gum  thus,  8 ounces;  gum  benzoin,  4 ounces; 
manila  elemi,  4 ounces;  spirit,  1 quart. 

VARNISH  PAINTS. 

These  are  made  by  mixing  opaque  pigments  with 
almost  any  varnish,  using  sufficient  turps  to  make 
them  spread  well. 

GOLD  VARNISH. 

Shellac,  8 ounces;  sandarac,  8 ounces;  mastic,  8 
ounces ; gamboge,  2 ounces ; dragon’s  blood,  1 ounce ; 
turmeric,  4 ounces;  spirit,  1 gallon. 


Practical  Souse  Painter. 


91 


FURNITURE  VARNISH. 

Shellac,  If  pounds ; sandarac,  4 ounces ; mastic,  4 
ounces;  spirit,  1 gallon. 

• DAMAR  VARNISH. 

Damar,  1 ounce;  sandarac,  5 ounces,  mastic,  1 
ounce ; turps,  20  ounces.  Digest  at  gentle  heat  until 
dissolved.  If  necessary  add  more  turps  to  bring 
down  to  the  proper  consistency. 

LACQUERS  FOR  BRASS  AND  TIN. 

Pale  gold  lacquer. — Spirit,  1 gallon;  orange  shel- 
lac, 1 ounce ; gamboge,  \ ounce. 

Deep  gold. — Orange  shellac,  10  ounces;  turmeric, 
4 ounces;  gamboge,  4 ounces;  dragon’s  blood,  \ 
ounce;  spirit,  f gallon. 

Brass  lacquer.— Shellac,  14  ounces;  turmeric,  4 
ounces;  annotto,  1 ounce;  saffron,  \ ounce;  spirit, 

1 gallon. 

LEATHER  VARNISH  (BLACK). 

Shellac,  12  ounces;  gum  thus,  5 ounces;  sandarac, 

2 ounces ; lamp  black,  1 ounce ; turpentine,  4 ounces ; 
spirit,  f gallon. 

Mix  the  ingredients,  and  give  them  time  to  dissolve 
in  the  spirit  in  a warm  place.  A shake-up  now  and 
then  will  quicken  the  process. 

PAPER  HANGER'S  OUTFIT. 

Bib  overalls,  large  pocket  in  front,  side  pockets 
for  rule  and  shears,  long  trimming  shears,  shorter 


92 


Practical  House  Painter. 


wet  shears,  straight  edge,  paste  board,  plumb  bob, 
rule,  paper  brush,  paste  pail,  size  kettle,  step-ladders 
and  rollers,  some  sandpaper,  soft  cloths  and  long 
blotting-paper  to  use  under  your  roller  on  seams, 
when  needed,  and  a plank  for  scaffold,  when  paper- 
ing ceilings.  For  common  sized  rooms  two  step-lad- 
ders are  good  in  the  place  of  trestles  to  hold  up  the 
plank.  For  butt  edging  I can  recommend  James 
Marks’  paper  cutters.  See  description  on  another 
page. 

PAPER  HANGERS* ' PASTE. 

Beat  up  four  pounds  of  sifted  wheat  flour  in  cold 
water  sufficient  to  make  a stiff  batter;  beat  out  all 
the  lumps,  then  add  enough  cold  water  to  make  it 
like  pudding  batter.  Then  pour  in  a little  hot  water 
and  stir,  then  pour  in  hot  water  fast,  and  stir  until 
the  paste  swells  and  thickens,  and  turns  darker.  It 
is  then  cooked.  To  keep  the  paste  from  “going 
back”  and  staining  the  paper,  add  about  two  ounces 
of  powdered  or  well  pounded  alum  to  the  boiling 
water  which  you*pour  on  the  batter.  This  will  make 
three-quarters  of  a common  wooden  pail  full  of  paste. 
It  will  do  better  and  go  further  if  you  let  it  cool 
before  using.  Turn  a little  cold  water  on  the  top 
to  prevent  it  skinning  over  while  you  wait  for  it  to 
cool.  When  ready  to  use  it,  thin  with  cold  water, 
until  it  works  easily  under  the  brush,  and  according 
to  the  wall.  A very  rough  porous  wall  needs  a stout 
paste  and  plenty  of  it,  while  a hard,  smooth  wall 


Practical  House  Painter. 


93 


should  have  the  paste  thinned  and  less  of  it.  I have 
known  paper  to  crack  and  fall  off  from  a smooth 
wall,  because  too  much  or  too  thick  paste  was  put  on. 
Just  enough  to  cement  the  paper  to  such  a wall  is 
best;  a body  of  paste  between  the  paper  and  plaster 
will  decay  and  peel  off,  and  take  the  paper  with  it. 
The  other  extreme  must  be  avoided  also.  Some 
hangers  prepare  this  paste  without  the  alum. 

If  hanging  paper  on  a glossy  painted  surface, 
leave  out  the  alum  and  add  one-half  pint  of  nice 
clear  sirup  to  each  gallon  of  paste. 

TO  MAKE  A PASTE  FOR  PAPERING  OVER  PAINTED  OR 
VARNISHED  WALLS. 

In  a kettle  mix  some  flour  in  water  in  the  same 
way  as  in  the  above  formula,  but  make  the  batter 
thinner.  To  each  gallon  of  the  batter  add  one  ounce 
of  powdered  resin.  Set  the  kettle  on  a moderate 
fire,  and  keep  stirring  it  until  it  boils  and  thickens, 
and  the  resin  is  melted  into  the  paste.  When  cool, 
thin  down  with  a weak  solution  of  gum  arabic. 

LIQUID  GLUE. 

Fine  glue  dissolved  in  alcohol  makes  a nice  binder 
for  fine  water  colors. 

TO  CRYSTALIZE  GLASS. 

Lay  the  glass  flat  and  flow  heavy  alum  water  over 
it.  Let  it  dry. 


64 


Practical  House  Painter. 


SIZE  FOR  WALLS  BEFORE  PAPERING  OR  KALSOMINING. 

One  pound  good  white  glue,  1 pound  good  bar 
soap,  2 pounds  pulverized  alum.  Dissolve  each  sep- 
arately in  one  quart  boiling  water,  having  first  soaked 
the  glue.  Mix  the  glue  and  soap  water,  and  then 
slowly  add  the  alum  water,  stirring  all  the  time. 
Add  cold  water  to  make  one  gallon. 

STAIN  OAK  WOOD. 

Wash  with  a solution  of  bi-chromate  of  potash  and 
acid  water.  One  ounce  to  a quart  of  water. 

SIZING  WALLS. 

“Anybody  can  do  it!”  Yes,  but  it  takes  an  ex- 
pert to  do  it  right.  It  is  not  a difficult  matter  to 
make  paper  stick  to  whitewash,  but  the  whitewash 
splits  as  far  in  as  the  paste  goes,  and  a part  of  it 
invariably  sticks  to  the  paper  when  it  comes  off  and 
a part  of  it  is  left  on  the  wall.  As  a rule,  if  you 
size  whitewash  with  flour  paste  and  let  it  stand  a few 
days  it  will  crack  and  roll  up.  Now,  pure  glue  size 
does  not  have  this  effect  upon  whitewash,  but,  on 
the  contrary,  it  not  only  acts  as  a binder,  but  as  an 
intervening  coat  between  the  paste  and  the  whitewash. 
In  other  words,  the  glue  size  will  stick  the  whitewash 
fast  without  causing  it  to  crack,  and  the  paste  will 
adhere  to  the  glue  size  without  bad  effects  upon 
either.  Now,  in  order  to  bind  the  whitewash,  the 
glue  should  penetrate  as  far  as  possible.  Hence,  the 


Practical  House  Painter. 


95 


size  should  be  put  on  warm,  and  the  room,  should  be 
warm,  otherwise  the  glue  will  get  cold  and  stiff  like 
jelly  before  it  has  time  to  penetrate;  hence  it  will 
remain  on  the  surface  instead  of  going  into  white- 
wash as  a binder.  The  idea  is  to  get  all  you  can  into 
the  wall  and  leave  as  little  as  possible  on  the  outside. 
Another  thing  to  look  after  is  the  quality  of  the 
glue.  Very  much  of  the  white  glue  found  on  the 
market  is  not  genuine  glue.  Some  of  it  is  adulter- 
ated with  starch  and  white  clay,  some  of  it  is  not 
glue  at  all.  A glue  which  will  dissolve  in  cold  water 
is  not  good  glue,  or  if  it  melts  readily  in  hot  water 
without  being  soaked  an  hour  or  two  in  cold  water, 
it  is  not  first-class.  If  it  has  a dead  white  look  it  is 
not  good.  Good  glue  should  be  glossy  and  semi- 
transparent, and  should  soften  and  swell  in  cold 
water,  but  not  dissolve  in  it.  When  put  into  hot 
water  without  being  first  soaked  in  cold  water,  it 
should  not  dissolve  at  once,  but  form  into  a lump 
and  resist  the  action  of  the  hot  water  for  some  time. 
HOW  TO  APPLY  WHITE  ENAMELED  LETTERS  TO  GLASS. 

An  extract  from  a circular  issued  by  the  manufac- 
turers of  these  letters : 

Having  thoroughly  cleaned  the  window  .and  freed 
it  from  grease,  draw  with  white  marking  chalk  on 
front  of  it  the  plan  or  arrangement  of  outline  it  is 
intended  to  adopt — straight  or  curved,  as  the  case 
may  be.  A rule  is  used  for  marking  the  straight  lines 
and  a piece  of  twine  for  the  curved  lines.  Now  divide 


Practical  House  Painter. 


these  guide  lines  up  into  as  many  spaces  as  there 
are  letters  to  go  on,  carefully  proportioning  them. 
Then  apply  the  cement  to  the  back  of  the  letters  with 
a knife,  laying  on  equally  around  both  the  inside 
edges.  Place  the  letter  upon  the  window  in  the 
space  marked  for  it  and  work  it  up  and  down,  back 
and  forth,  pressing  against  the  glass,  so  as  to  expel 
the  air  and  secure  a good  adhesion,  and  taking  care 
to  press  equally  on  top  and  bottom  of  the  letter,  as 
otherwise  there  is  a likelihood  of  breaking.  It  is 
advisable,  in  cementing  larger  sized  letters  than  six 
inches,  to  leave  the  letters  lay  for  an  hour  after 
placing  the  cement  around  the  edges,  and  then  to 
give  another  coat  of  cement  and  attach  the  letters 
immediately.  The  object  is  to  prevent  all  the  cement 
from  working  inside  the  concave  parts  of  the  let- 
ters. In  affixing  larger  and  heavy  letters,  small 
pieces  of  beeswax  (or,  in  summer,  sealing  wax) 
should  be  employed  to  keep  them  in  position  until 
the  cement  sets.  As  soon  as  the  letters  are  attached  to 
the  glass  take  a small  stick  of  wood,  sharpen  it  on 
the  end  and  clean  away  all  superfluous  cement,  keep- 
ing the  end  of  the  stick  constantly  wet.  Particular 
care  should  be  taken  to  leave  no  openings  between 
the  letters  and  the  glass  (especially  around  the  top 
edges)  which  would  allow  water  to  get  in  between. 

If  wax  has  been  used,  remove  it  after  a few  days 
and  clean  with  a rag.  The  sign  is  then  complete  for 


Practical  House  Painter. 


97 


long  service.  The  above  method  will  answer  equally 
well  on  any  smooth  surface  such  as  stone,  iron,  mar- 
ble, wood. 

To  make  the  cement,  mix  two  parts  of  white  lead 
ground  in  oil  with  three  parts  of  dry  white  lead,  and 
thin  it  down  to  the  consistency  of  soft  putty  with 
some  good  furniture  or  copal  varnish.  Then  take 
small  parts  of  it  and  grind  them  on  a stone  or  glass 
plate  in  the  manner  of  painters  grinding  color  with 
a bowl  or  palette  knife.  This  is  to  be  continued  un- 
til the  cement  is  entirely  smooth  and  cornless,  and 
then  it  is  ready  for  use. 

To  remove  enameled  letters,  the  most  convenient 
way  is  to  scratch  away  around  the  edges  all  the 
cement  you  can  from  under  the  letters.  Use  for  this 
purpose  a very  thin  knife  or  a piece  of  thin  sheet 
steel.  You  will  soon  reach  the  soft  part  of  the  ce- 
ment ; then  cut  away  with  a sawing  motion  and  twist 
them  off.  Do  not  attempt  to  pry  the  letters  off,  or 
they  may  break.  If  the  cement  should  be  very  hard, 
say  after  a number  of  years,  use  a little  kerosene  oil, 
which  is  applied  on  the  top  edges  of  the  letters,  so 
as  to  work  in  and  soften  the  cement. 

WALL  SIZING  FOR  KALSOMINING. 

There  are  many  things  about  wall  sizing,  which 
depend  largely  upon  good  judgment  for  success,  be- 
cause the  treatment  must  be  varied  according  to 
the  condition  of  the  wall  or  ceiling.  rA  good  size 
is  made  of  good  white  glue,  ^ pound ; alum,  1 pound. 


98 


Practical  House  Painter. 


Dissolve  the  glue  in  the  usual  way;  that  is;  soak 
it  in  cold  water  until  soft,  then  pour  off  the  cold 
water  and  pour  on  the  hot  water,  and  stir  until  the 
glue  is  dissolved. 

Dissolve  the  alum  in  hot  water. 

Then  stir  the  glue,  and  put  in  the  alum  water. 
Thin  the  mixture  with  water  to  the  fight  consistency 
to  work  well. 

If  one  coat  is  not  sufficient,  give  it  two ; or  if  there 
are  porous  places  in  the  wall,  touch  them  up. 

In  many  cases  a simple  glue  size  is  sufficient,  but 
if  you  use  the  glue  and  alum  size  as  above  directed, 
you  will  be  pretty  sure  of  a good  foundation  for 
kalsomine. 

One  of  the  most  difficult  things  to  overcome  in 
preparing  ceilings  for  kalsomine  is  the  water  stain, 
which  is  liable  to  be  invisible  until  developed  by  a 
coat  of  kalsomine.  If  you  find  water  stains  on  a 
ceiling  and  suspect  that  there  may  be  others  which 
do  not  show,  go  over  the  ceiling  with  a thin  wash 
of  whiting  mixed  in  clear  water,  which  when  dry  will 
develop  all  hidden  stains.  To  kill  a bad  stain,  first 
put  on  a coat  of  oil,  japan  and  turps,  equal  parts; 
second,  put  on  a coat  of  good  heavy  shellac;  third, 
give  the  spots  a coat  of  flat  lead.  This  treatment  is 
for  dark  stains;  for  light  stains  a coat  or  two  of 
shellac  will  stop  the  stain.  It  is  best  to  put  a coat 
of  keg  lead  thinned  with  turps  over  the  shellac,  be- 
cause kalsomine  is  liable  to  scale  off  from  shellac. 


Practical  House  Painter. 


99 


On  cheap  work,  if  the  stain  is  not  too  dark,  it  may 
be  kept  back  by  pasting  a piece  of  paper  over  it.  If 
the  wall  has  been  kalsomined  it  is  always  in  order  to 
wash  off  the  old  kalsomine.  If  the  work  has  been 
whitewashed,  either  take  it  off  or  first  give  it  a wash 
of  strong  vinegar,  then  a glue  size,  which,  if  put  on 
thin  and  plentifully  while  warm  in  a warm  room, 
is  about  the  best  size  I know  of  for  whitewash.  I 
have  often  used  it  successfully  when  it  was  not  prac- 
ticable on  account  of  the  weakness  of  the  ceiling  or 
other  cause  to  take  off  the  old  whitewash.  Two 
thin  coats  of  good  glue  size  on  firm  whitewash  makes 
as  fair  a foundation  for  kalsomine  as  can  be  made  on 
old  whitewash. 

When  it  will  not  pay  you  to  wash  off  the  old  kalso- 
mine, a coat  or  two  of  the  wall  sizing  described  above 
will  make  a good  foundation. 

SIGN  PAINTING. 

To  the  beginner  I will  say:  Learn  the  letters;  get 
a variety  of  alphabets  in  your  head;  the  more  you 
have  the  better  you  will  be  prepared  to  do  a pleasing 
variety  of  sign  writing.  A variety  of  letters  arranged 
in  alphabets  are  given  in  the  following  pages  as  a 
convenient  means  of  reference  for  the  painter  who 
may  desire  to  refresh  his  memory,  as  to  the  form  of 
any  letter  represented,  or  to  make  a study  of  them 
with  a view  of  acquiring  a knowledge  of  the  forma- 
tion of  letters  generally. 


100 


Practical  House  Painter. 


No.  1.  GOTHIC  CONDENSED. 

ABCDEFG 
HI  JKLNIN 
OPQRSTU 
VWXYZ&. 


Practical  House  Painter. 


101 


No.  1.  GOTHIC  CONDENSED — Continued. 

abcdefgh 
ijklmnopq 
r s t u v w xy  z 
1 2 3 4 5 6 
7 8 9 0 ,. 


o ►< 


102 


Practical  House  Painter. 


No.  2.  BLANCHARD. 

A B C D E F G H 
IJKLMNOP 
R S T U V W X 
Z <S 

1234567890 
abcdef  ghij 
Kim  nopqrs 
t u v w x y z , . 

No.  3.  ALASKAN. 

ABODE  F & M 
IJKL.MNOPQ 
RSTCIVWXYZ& 
12  3 4567890,. 


Practical  House  Painter.  10.1 

♦ 

No.  4.  OLD  STYLE  EXTENDED. 

A B C D F F 
Q H I J K L M 
N O P Q R S T 

UVWXYZ&,. 
abcdefghL 
i j k 1 m n o 
p q r s t u v 

w x y 1 2 3 
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104 


Practical  House  Painter, 


No.  5.  LINING  GOTHIC. 


F G H I J 
K L M N 
O PQ  RS 
T U V W 
XYZ&,. 
12  3 4 5 


Practical  House  Painter. 


105 


No.  6.  CONDENSED  DE  VINNE. 

ABCDEFGH 
IJKLMNO 
PQ  R S T U V 
X Y Z & , . 
1234567890 
a bed  ef g h i j 
k I m n o pqrs 
t u v w x y z 


106 


Practical  Mouse  Painter. 


No.  7.  GOTHIC  SHADED. 


/4  |g  § @ i 

r © i Li  j k 

LHIOP 
© LI  i f © 

f f X ¥ 1 


Practical  House  Painter. 


No.  8.  RONALDSON  SLOPE. 

A B CD  B F G H I J 
KLMNOPQRST 
V V W X Y Z & , . 

1334567890 

No.  9.  FLORENTINE. 

RBCDEFGH 

# 

I J K L M N O P 

QPSTUVWX 
Y Z & , . 

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108 


Practical  House  Painter. 


No.  10.  FRENCH  OLD  STYLE. 

ABCDEFG  H I 
JKLMNOPQR 
STUVWXYZ&,. 

No.  11.  LIVERMORE. 

7t  SZC*D€  2 S JC  S 
fJsTX  9?f9t  0 P Q 
&SU<UVW  X 0/  £ 

6c  , . abcdefghij 
/clmnopqr  a t u v 

wxyz/234  5 6 7 


Practical  House  Painter. 


109 


No.  12.  CASLON  OLD  STYLE. 

A B C D E F G 
HI  J.KLMN 
OPQRSTU 
VWXYZ&,. 
i 23456789 
oabcdefgh 
i j k 1 m n o p q 
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110 


Practical  House  Painter. 


No.  13.  SATANICK. 

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f6R 1JK 
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QR6CU 
vm  X\Z 


Practical  House  Painter, 


111 


No.  13.  SATANICK— Continued. 

abcdef gb 
ijklmriop 

qrstuvwx 

yz i 23456 

7890;,  !?& 


112 


Practical  House  Painter. 


No.  14.  COLUMBUS. 

AB6DEFG 
HI JKLMN0 

PQRSTUVW 
XYZ&..123 
4 56  7890a 
b c d e f g h i j 
klmnopqrs 
t u v w x y z 


Practical  House  Painter. 


113 


No.  15.  BRADLEY. 

J\ D€D€f 0RT3H 

cmnoPORSca 

U10X  VZabcdef 
g b i jkitntiopqrs 

tlHWKU  $ , . 

No.  16.  DORIC  ITALIC. 

ABCDEFGHI 
JKLMNOPQR 
S TUVWXYZ,. 
^1234567890 


114 


Practical  House  Painter. 


LIST  OF  PRICES  AND  MODE  OF  MEASUREMENT. 

Prices  for  Painting  and  Glazing. 

SQUARE  MEASURE. 

Plain  weatherboarding,  close  fencing, 
ledge  doors,  partitions,  paling 
fences,  etc.  All  common  colors,  viz.: 

White,  light  yellow,  slate,  pearl, 
light  drab  or  cream  color,  for  each 


coat,  per  yard 8 cents 

Each  coat  of  varnish 10  cents 


PANEL  WORK. 

Flush  panel  work,  panel  doors,  re- 
cesses, etc.,  the  above  colors,  for 

each  coat,  per  yard 10  cents 

The  same  in  two  colors 12  cents 

The  same  in  three  colors 14  cents 

Striping  after  other  work  is  finished, 

per  foot,  lineal  measure 1 cent 

For  expensive  or  unused  colors,  per 

yard,  additional 1 cent 

For  each  coat  of  varnish,  per  yard..  12  cents 
For  each  coat  of  shellac,  per  yard . . 12  cents 

BRICK  WORK. 

. Per  Yard. 


First  coat.... 15  cents 

Second  coat. 12  cents 

Third  coat. . 10  cents 

Penciling  15  cents 

Mastic  or  cement,  first  coat 20  cents 


Additional  coats,  same  as  brick, 


Practical  House  Painter. 


115 


INSIDE  WALL  PAINTING. 

Per  Yard. 

First  coat 12  cents 

Second  coat 10  cents 

Third  coat 8 cents 

STOPPING  AND  CLEANING. 

Ordinary  puttying,  charge  price  of  first  coat  for 
the  several  kinds  of  work.  Puttying  longitudinal 
joints  in  ceilings,  siding,  floors,  etc.,  to  be  charged 
from  two  to  four  times  the  price  of  first  coat  for 
the  several  kinds  of  work,  at  the  discretion  of  the 
measurer. 

SURFACING,  STAINING  AND  VARNISHING. 


Each  coat  surfacing 10  cents 

Each  coat  stain 8 cents 

Each  coat  varnish 12  cents 


LINEAL  MEASURE. 


Pilasters, 

, architraves, 

frames,  jambs,  base  mould- 

ings,  etc. : 

Each 

Coat 

Girth. 

Per  Foot. 

Varnish. 

1 

to 

4 

inches 

ic 

Jc 

4 

to 

6 

inches 

|C 

1 c 

6 

to 

8 

inches 

lie 

8 

to 

10 

inches . . . . , 

lie 

lie 

10 

to 

12 

inches 

lie 

lie 

12 

to 

14 

inches . . . . . 

lie 

2 c 

14 

to 

16 

inches 

' . .2  c 

2Jc 

16 

to 

18 

inches 

2ic 

2ic 

18 

to 

20 

inches 

2ic 

2ic 

20 

to 

22 

inches. . . . 

2£c 

3 c 

22 

to 

24 

inches . . . , . 

3 c 

3Jc 

116 


Practical  House  Painter. 


Larger  dimensions  taken  in  square  measure. 

Column  mantels  as  above. 

Panel  jambs,  door  casings,  etc.,  to  be  measured  by 
the  above  rule. 

Plain  rosettes,  add  one  foot  to  length. 

Carved  rosettes,  add  two  feet  to  length. 

Other  carved  or  ornamental  work  at  the  discretion 
of  the  measurer. 

MODE  OF  MEASURING. 

Begin  at  wall,  press  line  in  all  quirks  to  bead  at 
edge  of  jamb  casing  for  girth.  For  jambs  take  inner 
sash  rabbet  to  corner  bead,  double  the  height  and 
measure  between  jambs  for  length. 


STRING  BOARD,  ETC. 


Per  Foot . 

Plain,  each  coat 

Bracketed,  each  coat 

Carved,  each  coat 

Staff  beads,  each  coat 

Edge  of  shelves,  each  coat 

COBNICES  AND  COLTJMNS- 

-PLAIN. 

Per  Foot . 

Girth,  1 to  2 feet,  each  coat .... 

Girth,  2 to  3 feet,  each  coat .... 

Girth,  3 to  4 feet,  each  coat. . . . 

Girth,  4 to  5 feet  each  coat. . . . 

Plain  caps  on  columns,  add  to  length  two  feet. 
Ornamental  caps  on  columns,  add  to  length  four 
feet. 


Practical  House  Painter, 


117 


CORNICES  WITH  BRACKETS. 

Per  Foot , 


Girth  1 to  2 feet,  each  coat 4 cents 

Girth,  2 to  3 feet,  each  coat 6 cents 

Girth,  3 to  4 feet,  each  coat 8 cents 

Girth,  4 to  5 feet,  6ach  coat 10  cents 

Girth  5 to  6 feet,  each  coat 12  cents 


Larger  dimensions  in  proportion. 

Dental  cornices,  same  price  as  brackets. 

MODE  OF  MEASURING. 

For  girth,  begin  at  top,  press  line  into  all  quirks 
and  over  each  member  to  the  bottom,  and  to  the 
length  add  one-half  the  medium  girth  of  the  brack- 
ets multiplied  by  their  number. 

PRIMING  OR  TRACING  AND  GLAZING  SASH. 

EACH  SIZE,  PER  LIGHT. 


Priming 

or 

New 

Old 

Glazing 
and  Glass 

Tracing . 

Glazing, 

8.  8, 

> 10x12  to  14  ... 

....*. $0.01* 

$0.05 

$0.20 

12x16  or  18  ... 

014 

.08 

.35 

14x24  ........ 

. . . . . .02 

.10 

.40 

18x24  

03 

.14 

.50 

24x30  

. . . . $ .05 

$ .18 

D.S, 

$1.00 

26x36  

06 

.20 

1.30 

30x36  

.25 

1.65 

36x40  

10 

.30 

40x44  

12 

.35 

40x50  

.....  .14 

.40 

.... 

40x56  

16 

.50 

50x60  

. ....  .18 

.60 

.... 

50x70  

20 

.75 

• * • • 

118 


Practical  House  Painter. 


These  prices  do  not  apply  when  called  out  to  glaze 
one  or  two  lights. 

For  back  puttying  add  one-quarter,  and  for  bed- 
ding add  one-half,  to  the  above  rates. 

In  new  glazing  cost  of  glass  not  included. 

All  breakage  at  the  risk  of  the  owners,  if  glass  is 
furnished  by  them.  To  all  bills  of  glass  furnished 
by  the  trade  20  per  cent,  will  be  charged  additional. 

PLATE  GLASS. 

Sizes  same  as  table  above,  at  same  prices.  Sizes 
above  to  90  square  feet,  5 per  cent,  on  net  cost 
delivered;  90  to  108  square  feet,  8 per  cent.;  108 
square  feet  and  upwards,  10  per  cent. 

Removing  old  glass,  same  as  above.  The  owner 
to  pay  cost  of  taking  up  large  glass  above  first  floor. 

Unless  otherwise  provided  for,  glazier  puts  glass 
in  at  his  own  risk  of  breakage,  but  cutting  will  be 
at  owner’s  risk. 

SANDING. 

First  coat  of  sand  equal  to  two  coats  of  paint,  in 
addition  to  paint. 

Second  coat  of  sand  equal  to  three  coats  of  paint, 
in  addition  to  paint. 

GRAINING — SQUARE  MEASURE. 

Per  Yard. 


Plain  oak  $0.40 

Plain  walnut  or  ash. 70 

Plain  satinwood  or  maple 70 

Plain  mahogany  or  cherry 70 


Practical  House  Painter. 


119 


Per  Yard . 


Shaded  oak . .$0.50 

Shaded  oak 50 

Penciled  oak  or  ash 1.00 

Penciled  chestnut  or  cherry 1.00 

Penciled  walnut 1.00 

Rosewood  1.00 

Oak  root  1.50 


LINEAL  MEASURE. 

Girth . 

Graining.  Varnishing. 

1 to  4 inches,  per  foot. 

..$0.03  $0.00} 

4 to  6 inches,  per  foot. 

..  .04 

.01 

6 to  8 inches,  per  foot. 

..  .05 

.01* 

8 to  10  inches,  per  foot. 

..  .06 

.01i 

10  to  12  inches,  per  foot. 

..  .07 

.01* 

12  to  14  inches,  per  foot. 

..  .08 

,02 

14  to  16  inches,  per  foot. 

. . .09 

.02* 

16  to  18  inches,  per  foot. 

..  .10 

.02* 

Other  members  in  proportion. 

Graining  edges  of  shelves,  per  foot,  \\ 

cents. 

Graining  sash,  double  the  price  of  plain  painting. 

MARBLING — SQUARE  MEASURE. 

White,  per  yard 

.$0.75 

Other  kinds,  per  yard . . . , 

. 1.00 

Varnishing,  each  coat,  per  yard 

. .12 

LINEAL  MEASURE. 

All  members 

— Per  foot — 

from 

Marbling . 

Varnishing. 

1 to  8 inches  girth 

....$0.08 

$0.01 

8 to  10  inches  girth 

12 

.01* 

10  to  12  inches  girth 

16 

.01* 

12  to  14  inches  girth.., 

18 

.02 

14  to  16  inches  girth 

.02* 

Larger  members  in  proportion. 


120 


Practical  House  Painter. 


CLEANING  AND  KALSOMINING. 


Ceilings  and  walls,  per  yard $0.16 

Plain  cornices,  1 to  2 feet  girth,  per  foot 02 

Plain  cornices,  2 to  4 feet  girth,  per  foot 03 


Add  to  the  above  for  each  color,  if  more  than  one,  1 cent 
per  foot. 

DEDUCTIONS. 

The  price  of  any  work  measured  and  not  specified 
in  this  list  shall  be  fixed  by  the  measurer. 

The  measurer  is  hereby  authorized  to  deduct  from 
5 to  20  per  cent  from  the  price  of  any  work  that  in 
his  judgment  is  not  first-class. 

FEES  FOR  MEASURING. 


Jobs  amounting  to  $150  or  less 

, 5 per  cent 

Jobs  amounting  to  over  $150  and  less  than  $500.  .4  per  cent 

Jobs  amounting  to  over  $500  and 

less  than 

$1,000  

3 per  cent 

Jobs  amounting  to  over  $1,000.  ...... 



, 2 per  cent 

Sign  Painting. 

FACIA  SIGNS. 

Gold. 

Plain. 

12  feet  long , . 

. .$  8.00 

$ 4.00 

14  feet  long. 

4.00 

16  feet  long. 

. 10.00 

5.00 

18  feet  long 

. 12.00 

6.00 

20  feet  long. 

. 15.00 

7.00 

24  feet  long 

. 16.50 

8.00 

Above  includes  two  coats  of  paint. 

BRASS  SIGNS. 

3x14  inches 

...$  3.50 

4x20  inches. 

. . . 5.00 

Practical  House  Painter. 


121 


$ 4.00 

6x12  in^he*  t t . r t , t , 

, . . . 4.50 

8x14  inches  . 

...  5.00 

10x14  inches  f 

. . . . 5.00 

12x17  inches  

. . . . 6.00 

14x20  inches  t 

, . . . 7.00 

18x25  inches 

• 

. ...  10.00 

24x30  inches  

. ...  15.00 

Sill  signs,  per  square  foot 

Square  signs,  per  square  foot 

. . . . 3.50 

. ...  3.00 

TO  MAKE  HARD  PUTTY. 


For  Carriage  Work. 

Mix  equal  parts  of  dry  and  keg  white 

lead  with  equal  parts  of  rubbing  varnish  and  gold  size 
japan;  mix  thoroughly  and  pound  well. 

For  Hurried  Work . 

Mix  dry  white  lead  with  equal  parts  of  rubbing 
varnish  and  gold  size  japan.  Keep  hard  putty  cov- 
ered in  water  when  not  in  use. 

TO  MAKE  AND  APPLY  KALSOMINE. 

Soak  one  pound  good  white  glue  in  cold  water  until 
soft,  then  pour  off  the  cold  water,  and  dissolve  the 
glue  in  hot  water.  Mix  twenty  pounds  of  good  whit- 
ing in  water  to  a thick  paste;  dissolve  one  pound  of 
alum  in  water,  and  add  it  to  the  mixture.  Before 
mixing  the  glue  and  whiting,  put  in  your  tinting 
colors,  which  should  be  ground  in  water.  Test  your 
color  by  dipping  in  a piece  of  paper  and  letting  it 


122 


Practical  House  Painter. 


dry.  After  you  put  in  the  glue,  test  in  the  same  way 
to  see  if  there  is  enough  glue  to  bind  it  well,  then 
set  your  kalsomine  aside  to  get  cold. 

Thin  to  good  workable  consistency  with  cold  water. 

Have  in  enough  glue  to  hold  it  from  washing  up 
when  you  have  to  put  on  a second  coat.  Too  much 
glue  will  cause  the  kalsomine  to  go  on  hard,  and 
crack  and  scale  off  when  dry.  If  it  dries  too  fast,  add 
two  ounces  of  glycerine  to  one  gallon  of  kalsomine. 
Have  good  staging,  and  two  men  for  a good  sized 
room.  Use  good  kalsomine  brushes,  and  work  fast. 
Lay  on  the  kalsomine  freely ; the  beauty  of  the  work 
will  depend  upon  how  you  lay  it  off,  and  level  it  up. 
Put  it  on  not  as  you  would  paint,  all  one  way , but 
work  your  brush  in  all  directions,  until  your  work  is 
level,  then  carefully  lay  it  off  with  light  strokes. 

For  a white  job  put  in  a little  blue.  If  you  have 
never  done  a job  of  kalsomining,  and  have  no  one  to 
aid  you,  practice  on  the  wall  in  your  shop  or  any 
other  place,  until  you  get  the  knack  of  it.  Cover  a 
small  space  and  see  how  it  comes  out. 

Always  finish  lightly  with  the  point  of  your  brush. 
If  an  edge  dries,  stop  and  wet  it  with  a clean  brush 
and  clear  water;  if  careful  you  can  join  to  it  without 
showing  “laps.”  If  you  find  you  have  missed  any 
spots  wet  the  edges  in  the  same  way,  and  carefully 
touch  them  up  with  kalsomine.  If  you  find  after  all 
your  precautions,  a water  stain  has  come  through  your 
kalsomine,  wet  the  place  with  a solution  of  sugar  of 


Practical  House  Painter. 


123 


lead,  made  in  proportion  of  1 ounce  sugar  of  lead  to 
1 quart  of  rain  water;  it  may  kill  the  stain.  See 
article  on  wall  sizing  and  water  stains,  page  39. 

Rough  places  in  plaster  take  more  color  than  a 
smooth  wall,  hence  they  are  liable  to  show  spots ; so  it 
stands  you  in  hand  to  make  such  places  smooth  as 
possible  ;to  do  this  take  off  the  rough  sand  with  sand- 
paper and  knife  or  trowel  on  a thin  coat  of  plaster 
paris,  or  give  the  rough  places  an  extra  coat  or  two  of 
size.  Fill  all  cracks  and  holes,  and  give  the  filling 
time  to  dry  before  putting  on  the  size,  because  other- 
wise it  will  take  more  color  than  the  balance  of  the 
wall  and  your  work  will  look  spotted. 

In  the  kalsomining  season  have  some  large  tubs 
and  mix  up  as  much  whiting  in  hot  water  as  you  will 
need  for  several  days.  Add  your  color,  glue,  size  and 
alum  to  as  much  only  as  you  want  for  immediate  use. 
In  hot  weather  I use  liquid  glue. 

LIQUID  GLUE  FOR  KALSOMINE  AND  WALL  SIZING. 

For  use  in  hot  weather,  a liquid  glue  which  will 
not  decompose  and  smell  badly  is  very  desirable  to 
the  workmen  and  the  inmates  of  the  house. 

No.  1.  To  make  such  a glue  fill  a bottle  a little 
more  than  half  full  of  broken  up  good  white  glue,  and 
fill  the  bottle  with  common  whisky  or  equal  parts  of 
alcohol  and  water.  Let  it  stand  a few  days  and  it 
will  dissolve  the  glue;  this  glue  will  keep  for  years. 
Keep  the  bottle  corked. 

No.  2.  Melt  your  glue  in  the  usual  way,  thick  as 


124 


Practical  House  Painter. 


you  will  want  it  for  any  purpose,  then  put  in  £ or  f 
ounce  nictric  acid  to  each  pound  of  glue  used;  enough 
to  give  the  glue  a sour  taste,  like  vinegar.  The  acid 
keeps  it  in  a liquid  state,  and  from  spoiling.  If  you 
melt  the  glue  in  an  iron  kettle  pour  it  into  a wooden 
vessel,  before  you  add  the  acid,  otherwise  the  acid  will 
act  on  the  iron  and  blacken  the  glue.  When  wanted 
for  use  it  can  be  thinned  as  desired  with  cold  water ; 
a cask  full  of  this  made  up  and  kept  air  tight  so  the 
wTater  will  not  evaporate  will  be  found  very  handy  to 
draw  from,  when  you  want  a little  in  a hurry  for  glue 
size  or  kalsomine.  When  you  make  it  up  in  this  way 
put  in  at  least  1 ounce  of  acid  to  the  pound  of  glue 
to  make  sure  it  will  keep  liquid,  so  you  can  draw  it 
from  the  eask. 

Acetic  acid  will  answer  the  same  purpose  as  nitric 
acid,  but  it  will  take  more  of  it  and  make  the  liquid 
glue  more  expensive. 

TO  PREPARE  AN  OLD  WALL  FOR  PAINT  OR  PAPER. 

First  cut  out  all  the  cracks  V shape,  clean  out  the 
holes  and  bevel  the  edges  same  as  the  cracks.  Then 
fill  with  fine  plaster  paris  mixed  with  thin  glue  size. 
Fill  with  care;  when  dry,  sandpaper  the  filling 
smooth  and  level.  If  the  wall  is  sandy  or  rough,  sand- 
paper it  smooth  as  you  can.  If  the  holes  are  large, 
have  a plasterer  stop  them,  if  you  can;  if  you  fail 
in  that,  and  the  job  must  be  done  soon,  fit  in  thin 
boards,  fill  around  the  edges  with  plaster,  and  paste 
on  cloth,  or  extra  paper;  but  to  do  a nice  job  you 


Practical  House  Painter.  125 

must  insist  on  having  the  large  holes  plastered.  If 
the  hole  is  up  out  of  reach , and  too  large  for  you  to 
fill,  cement  the  edges  with  plaster,  stretch  a piece  of 
cloth,  or  extra  thickness  of  paper  over  it,  and  it  will 
look  all  right,  because  the  paper  will  shrink  tight 
when  it  dries.  If  you  find  places  where  the  clinches 
are  broken,  and  the  plaster  is  loose,  press  the  plaster 
back  to  its  place  if  ypu  can,  and  cut  small  holes 
through  the  plaster  and  turn  small  broad  headed 
screws  into  the  lath  even  with  the  plaster  and  cement 
around  the  screws  with  plaster  paris. 

If  it  is  a smooth  wall  with  rough,  sandy  patches, 
sandpaper  down  the  patches  a little  below  the  level 
of  the  wall,  sweep  out  the  loose  plaster,  give  a coat  of 
glue  size,  and  knife  or  trowel  in  a coat  of  plaster 
paris  mixed  with  glue  size  or  vinegar,  and  when  dry, 
sandpaper  until  smooth  and  level. 

There  are  several  points  to  be  considered  and  pro- 
vided for  in  filling  cracks  in  a plastered  wall  prepar- 
atory to  painting.  First,  are  the  edges  of  the  cracked 
wall  level  ? To  determine  this,  lay  your  rule  across  the 
crack,  and  if  you  find  the  plaster  on  one  side  of  the 
crack  higher  than  the  other,  it  shows  that  side  of 
the  wall  has  sprung  out  of  place,  because  the  laths 
are  loose  or  the  clinches  are  broken.  The  first  thing 
on  the  program  is  to  get  the  highest  edges  back  to 
“place.”  Failing  in  that,  the  next  best  thing  is  to 
raise  the  other  side.  If  that  scheme  don’t  work,  the 
next  method  is  to  use  sandpaper  on  a block  and  rub 


126 


Practical  House  Painter. 


down  the  highest  side  with  a wide  bevel  to  match 
the  lowest,  otherwise  your  filling  will  be  at  an  angle 
more  or  less  acute  with  the  general  surface  of  the 
wall,  and  cast  a shadow  or  reflect  the  light  according 
to  which  way  the  light  falls  upon  it,  and  the  place 
where  the  crack  was  will  “show”  in  spite  of  your  best 
efforts  to  conceal  it.  If  you  find  one  edge  of  a crack 
higher  than  the  other,  gently  press  against  it,  and  if 
it  goes  back  to  place,  cement  it  with  plaster  paris  wet 
up  in  clear  water,  and  it  will  set  in  three  minutes 
hard  enough  to  hold  the  plaster  in  place.  If  the  loose 
edge  will  not  go  back  by  gentle  pressure,  lay  a piece 
of  board  over  it  and  push  hard  as  you  dare  to  and 
not  crush  the  plaster.  If  it  is  still  obstinate,  drill 
out  a piece  and  insert  a bent  wire  or  other  instrument 
made  on  purpose,  and  see  if  you  can  feel  the  obstruc- 
tion and  remove  it.  Failing  in  this,  see  if  you  can 
raise  up  the  lower  side  to  a level  with  the  highest 
and  cement  it  fast.  If  the  last  scheme  is  too  much 
for  your  patience  and  ingenuity,  resort  to  the  block 
and  sandpaper,  and  rub  down  the  high  side  with  a 
wide  bevel  to  match  the  other.  The  next  point  is  to 
prevent  the  paint  near  the  edges  of  the  crack,  and 
on  the  filling  which  we  put  in,  from  drying  flat  while 
the  balance  of  the  wall  bears  out  a gloss.  To  do 
this  we  must  find  out  the  cause  of  the  “flatting”  near 
the  edges  of  the  crack  and  over  the  “filling.”  If  we 
examine  into  the  matter,  we  will  find  that  when  the 
wall  cracked  the  plaster  adjacent  was  more  or  less 


Practical  House  Painter. 


127 


fractured  and  made  more  porous  than  the  uninjured 
portions  of  it.  Hence,  more  oil  is  drawn  from  the 
paint  near  the  crack  than  where  the  wall  is  solid. 
Now,  for  the  remedy:  With  a small  pointed  brush 
wet  the  edges  of  the  crack  with  linseed  oil  until  they 
will  take  no  more  in.  Let  the  oil  dry,  and  fill  the 
crack  with  plaster  mixed  with  thin  glue  size,  but 
have  the  top  of  the  filling  one-sixth  of  an  inch  below 
the  surface  of  the  wall.  Let  the  filling  dry,  and 
with  a fine  pointed  brush  paint  over  the  top  of  the 
filling  and  the  edges  of  the  crack.  Let  the  paint 
dry,  and  finish  filling  with  hard  putty.  Let  the  putty 
dry,  and  sandpaper  the  job  smooth  and  level.  If 
you  have  to  bevel  the  highest  edge  with  sandpaper, 
first  fill  the  beveled  portion  with  oil.  Let  the  oil  dry, 
and  fill  the  pores  with  hard  putty,  because  the  part 
beveled  with  sandpaper  will  be  more  porous  than 
the  balance  of  the  wall.  Treat  and  fill  all  small 
holes  by  the  same  method.  Filling  cracks  in  this 
way  is  a little  tedious,  I admit;  but  it  is  the  only 
w*ay  that  I know  of  to  stop  a crack  in  plaster,  so  it 
will  stay  stopped  and  not  show  after  it  is  painted. 

HOW  TO  PAINT  A PLASTERED  WALL. 

Prime  with  lead  and  raw  oil,  tinted  like  succeed- 
ing coats.  Have  the  prime  thin,  not  more  than  five 
pounds  of  white  lead  to  the  gallon  of  oil ; add  a lit- 
tle benzine  or  turps  to  make  it  more  penetrating. 
If  the  room  is  cool,  warm  up  your  prime  before  you 
add  the  benzine  or  turps.  The  idea  is  to  have  it 


128 


Practical  House  Painter. 


penetrate  as  much  as  possible;  brush  the  prime  well 
into  the  wall.  If  it  is  a sand  wall,  brush  off  the  loose 
sand.  If  it  is  a smooth  one,  putty  coated  or  hard  fin- 
ished wall,  see  that  there  are  no  lumps  or  grains  of 
sand  left  on  the  surface.  It  is  a good  idea  to  pass 
the  hand  over  the  wall  to  feel  the  lumps,  and  to 
knock  off  lumps  and  grains  of  sand  by  going  over 
the  work  with  sandpaper. 

For  second  coat  use  glue  size,  made  as  directed  on 
another  page. 

Third  coat.  Mix  so  as  to  dry  with  a gloss,  have 
the  body  fairly  thick,  and  spread  it  well  out.  Mix 
with  3 parts  linseed  oil  to  1 part  turps. 

Fourth  coat. — If  this  coat  is  to  be  flat,  mix  it 
thick  enough  to  cover  well;  mix  mainly  with  turps, 
if  the  weather  is  hot,  or  from  any  other  cause  the 
paint  don’t  work  well,  add  a little  linseed  oil.  For 
an  egg  shell  gloss,  use  about  1 part  oil  and  3 parts 
turps. 

If  the  wall  is  to  be  finished  in  stipple,  mix  the 
last  coat  half  oil  and  half  turps,  rather  thick,  and 
add  a little  japan.  To  stipple  strike  the  paint  evenly 
and  continuously  with  the  square  end  of  a large 
brush,  made  for  the  purpose ; a new  clean  duster  will 
do.  Let  the  stippler  follow  the  painters.  The  coat 
of  glue  size  saves  two  coats  of  paint.  It  is  put  on 
after  the  prime  to  keep  moisture  and  air  from  the 
glue,  otherwise  it  would  be  liable  to  decay. 

tJse  boiled  oil  in  all  coats  except  priming  coat. 
Have  only  enough  difference  in  the  color  of  the  dif- 


Practical  House  Painter. 


129 


ferent  coats,  so  you  can  see  where  you  have  painted, 
and  not  leave  holidays;  especially  in  rooms  where 
the  light  is  not  very  good. 

Some  painters  advocate  (especially  on  hard  fin- 
ished wall)  a good  filling  of  clear  linseed  oil,  before 
any  paint  is  put  on  to  keep  the  surface  from  fire 
cracking. 

It  is  risky  business  to  paint  a new  hot  wall ; in  such 
cases  if  it  must  be  done  before  the  lime  has  become 
somewhat  neutralized,  give  it  a coat  of  vinegar,  and 
let  it  stand  a day  or  so  before  you  put  on  the  prime. 
The  vinegar  will  neutralize  the  lime  and  not  hurt  the 
priming. 

TO  PREPARE  A ROUGH  SANDY  WALL  FOR  PAINT  OR 
PAPER. 

If  you  have  a rough  brown  mortar  wall  to  paper 
and  want  to  make  the  job  look  smooth  as  possible, 
first  go  over  it  lightly  with  No.  2 paper  to  knock  off 
the  loose  and  most  prominent  grains  of  sand;  then 
with  No.  2 paper  rub  down  all  “cat  faces”  and  trowel 
marks ; level  up  all  hollows  with  plaster  paris  wet  up 
in  thin  glue  size  or  vinegar,  and  you  will  be  ready  to 
put  on  the  lining  paper.  This  paper  should  be  soft 
and  porous  so  that  it  will  quickly  absorb  paste  and 
not  blister;  good  white  blank  wall  paper  having  but 
little  color  will  answer  very  well  for  this  purpose. 
Start  in  to  hang  it  with  half  a strip  in  width  so  as 
to  break  joints  with  the  next  coat;  use  sufficient  paste 


130 


Practical  House  Painter. 


to  make  the  paper  stick  to  the  wall;  butt  the  edges 
and  be  sure  when  the  paper  is  dry  that  there  are  no 
loose  places.  Right  here  is  the  turning  point  of  your 
job  for  “good  or  for  bad.” 

Pound  the  lining  paper  down  so  closely  that  all 
the  prominent  grains  of  sand  will  show  through, 
and  be  sure  to  make  it  stay  there  until  dry.  When 
the  lining  paper  is  dry,  go  over  it  with  good  sharp 
No.  1|  sandpaper  and  cut  out  all  the  prominent 
grains  of  sand  which  show  through  the  paper,  being 
careful  to  rub  no  more  than  is  necessary  to  take  out 
the  sand ; the  idea  being  to  cut  through  to  the  promi- 
nently projecting  grains  of  sand,  and  rattle  them  out. 
Some  walls  will  need  a second  coat  of  lining  paper 
and  another  sandpapering,  before  they  are  smooth 
enough  for  anything  like  a fine  job.  If  the  owner 
refuses  to  stand  the  expense  of  putting  on  lining 
paper,  glue  size  the  wall,  and  when  dry,  knock  off  the 
prominent  grains  of  sand  with  sandpaper  and  knife 
in  plaster  paris  putty  on  the  rough  places.  In 
either  case,  take  extra  pains  with  portions  of  the  wall 
where  there  are  side  lights,  which  always  magnify 
rough  places.  Sandy  walls  may  be  leveled  and 
smoothed  somewhat  with  a coat  of  kalsomine  to  hold 
light  bodied  paper. 

Make  a kalsomine  of  good  white  glue,  1 pound  to 
15  pounds  of  whiting  and  half  a pound  of  alum. 
Dissolve  the  glue  and  alum  in  the  usual  way.  When 
the  kalsomine  is  dry,  give  the  surface  a thin  coat  of 


Practical  House  Painter. 


131 


glue  size  to  stop  the  suction.  Let  the  glue  size  dry, 
then  put  on  the  paper ; use  light  paste,  and  be  sparing 
of  it  as  you  can  and  make  the  paper  stick.  I have 
often  noticed  that  too  much  or  too  little  paste  is 
used  in  paperhanging;  some  wails  and  some  papers 
require  more  paste  than  others.  Too  much  paste  on 
a smooth  wall,  or  too  little  on  a rough  one,  makes  bad 
work.  If  you  use  a roller  for  seams  have  it  covered 
with  short  plush.  To  paint  on  a wall  covered  with 
lining  paper  as  above  described,  first  put  on  a coat  of 
glue  size. 

TO  PAINT  OVER  NEWLY  PLASTERED  CRACKS  IN  WALLS. 

When  the  painter  has  to  paint  over  holes  and 
cracks  in  walls  recently  filled  by  the  plasterer,  he  will 
be  likely  to  have  to  deal  with  plaster  made  in  part  of 
fresh  lime.  In  such  cases,  it  is  always  best  to  soak 
the  newly  plastered  places  with  strong  vinegar,  to  hill 
as  much  as  possible  the  caustic  properties  of  the  lime . 
Put  on  the  vinegar  plentifully  and  let  it  soak  in; 
when  dry,  give  the  new  plaster  a coat  of  size  made  of 
linseed  oil,  japan  and  turpentine;  when  dry,  put  on 
a coat  of  white  shellac  before  painting. 

FLASHED  GLASS  SIGNS. 

Flashed  glass  is  clear  on  one  side  and  colored  on 
the  other ; the  colored  glass  forming  only  a thin  film 
on  one  side  of  the  clear  glass.  We  can  make  elegant 
signs  on  this  glass  by  etching  the  letter  through  the 
colored  portion  of  the  glass,  making  the  letters  clear 


132 


Practical  House  Painter. 


and  the  background  colored;  or  by  etching  out  the 
background  and  leaving  the  letters  colored.  Lay  out 
the  letters  on  paper,  and  place  it  under  the  glass  as  a 
guide  to  work  by ; then,  with  asphaltum  varnish  cover 
the  background  and  leave  the  letters  free  and  clear; 
in  other  words,  “cut  around  them.”  If  you  want  a 
clear  background  with  colored  border  and  colored  let- 
ters, cover  the  letters  and  border  and  leave  the  back- 
ground free  and  clear.  Then  melt  some  beeswax, 
and  when  it  begins  to  cool,  take  up  a small  portion 
of  it  with  a putty  knife  and  scrape  it  off  on  the  edge 
of  the  glass,  and  repeat  the  operation  until  a wall  or 
dam  is  made  all  around  the  glass,  to  hold  the  acid 
you  are  about  to  put  on  the  glass,  from  running  off ; 
then  pour  on  a little  hydrofluoric  acid,  and  it  will 
etch  out  the  colored  glass  not  covered  by  the  asphalt- 
um in  about  one  hour;  then  you  can  pour  the  acid 
hack  into  your  bottle,  to  be  used  again.  Next  wash 
the  glass  by  pouring  water  over  it;  then  scrape  off 
the  wax,  and  take  off  the  asphaltum  with  turpentine. 
Some  painters  use  a varnish  made  by  melting  togeth- 
er equal  parts  of  paraffine  and  asphaltum  and  thin- 
ning to  working  consistency  with  turpentine. 

FLUOEIC  ACID,  TO  MAKE  FOE  ETCHING  PUEPOSES. 

You  can  make  your  own  fluoric  acid  (sometimes 
called  hydro-fluoric)  by  getting  the  fluor  spar,  pul- 
verizing it  and  putting  as  much  of  it  into  sulphuric 
acid  as  the  acid  will  cut  or  dissolve. 


Practical  House  Painter. 


133 


Druggists  through  the  country  do  not  keep  this 
acid  generally,  but  they  can  get  it  in  the  principal 
cities.  One  ounce  will  do  at  least  fifty  dollars  worth 
of  work.  It  is  put  in  gutta  percha  bottles  or  lead 
bottles,  and  must  be  kept  in  them  when  not  in  use, 
having  corks  of  the  same  material.  Glass,  of  course, 
will  not  hold  it,  as  it  dissolves  the  glass,  otherwise  it 
would  not  etch  upon  it. 

LIQUID  WOOD  FILLERS  FOR  CHEAP  WORK. 

Corn  starch  and  cheap  varnish  are  the  principal  in- 
gredients of  many  cheap  wood  fillers ; the  corn  starch 
is  mixed  with  the  varnish  and  thinned  with  turps 
until  workable.  You  can  experiment  on  this  idea. 

Corn  starch  in  shellac  in  proportion  of  1 pound  to 
the  gallon  doubles  its  capacity  as  a filler . I have 
made  and  used  a filler  for  cheap  work  in  this  way: 
Pale  rosin,  2 pounds;  boiled  oil,  1 gallon;  japan,  1 
pint.  Melt  the  rosin  in  the  oil,  take  the  kettle  outside, 
and  add  % gallon  turpentine ; stir  and  when  cold  add  \ 
pound  of  corn  starch.  Thin  with  turps  until  workable. 
Add  more  or  less  starch,  according  to  the  surface 
you  want  to  fill.  These  mixtures  are  all  the  better  if 
run  through  a paint  mill. 

AXOTHER  PASTE  FILLER. 

Corn  starch  mixed  to  a paste  with  one  part  linseed 
oil,  two  parts  each  japan  and  rubbing  varnish;  thin 
to  working  consistency  with  turpentine. 


134 


Practical  House  Painter. 


CARRIAGE  PAINTING  IN  THE  VILLAGE  SHOP. 

NEW  WORK. 

Prime  with  white  lead,  mixed  thin  in  oil,  add  a 
little  japan  and  turpentine  to  make  the  paint  dry 
hard  and  quick ; when  the  priming  is  dry  and  hard, 
putty  up  with  hard  putty  as  directed  on  another  page. 
Then  follow  with  two  coats  of  keg  lead  thinned  with 
turpentine;  add  a little  japan  to  make  it  dry  hard, 
and  a little  oil  to  make  it  work  well.  Carefully  mix 
and  strain  your  paint.  Give  the  body  five  coats  of 
rough  stuff,  made  as  directed  on  page  144  and  a 
guide  coat,  and  when  dry,  proceed  to  cut  down  the 
rough  stuff.  For  this  purpose  your  tools  will  be  sev- 
eral pieces  of  pumice  stone,  a pail  of  water,  a large 
flat  file,  a good  sponge  and  a chamois.  Flatten  one 
side  of  your  stone  for  a grinding  surface  and  have  no 
thin  edges,  because  they  will  keep  breaking  off  and 
be  liable  to  get  under  the  stone,  and  scratch  your 
work.  Now,  two  of  the  most  important  things  you 
will  have  to  guard  against  is  cutting  through  the 
rough  stuff  and  lead  coats,  and  scratching  the  surface. 
There  is  a great  difference  in  pieces  of  pumice  stone. 
Some  are  hard  and  full  of  flint  like  particles,  which 
will  scratch  the  work;  others  are  softer  and  of  more 
even  grit;  the  light  colored  and  fairly  open  grained 
pieces  are  the  safest  to  use.  You  can  tell  a fast  cut- 
ting stone  by  its  open  grain  and  lightness.  The  finer 
grades  of  German  rubbing  brick  and  English  rub- 
bing stone  are  also  used  in  rubbing  rough  stuff.  A 


Practical  House  Painter. 


133 

stone  with  a broad  surface  is  preferable  for  large 
surfaces. 

Have  small  pieces  to  rub  around  the  bolt  heads  and 
other  places  which  are  difficult  to  get  at  with  the 
large  stone.  The  practiced  workman  can  tell  the 
moment  a stone  begins  to  scratch,  both  by  the  sound 
and  by  the  feeling  to  the  hand,  and  you  may  train 
your  ear  and  nerve  to  this  degree  of  sensitiveness; 
until  you  do  so,  you  will  have  to  look  sharp,  and 
frequently  rub  your  stone  on  the  file,  and  clean  off 
your  work  wfith  a sponge  full  of  water  to  see  the  con- 
dition of  the  work.  Also  by  passing  your  hand  back 
and  forth  across  it  to  determine  the  condition  of  it, 
or  if  there  is  any  large  grit  on  it,  liable  to  get  under 
the  stone  and  scratch.  Eub  until  the  brush  marks 
are  gone,  etc.,  which  your  guide  coat  will  show  you. 
Use  plenty  of  water  while  rubbing.  Thoroughly 
wash  the  body  inside  and  out.  When  dry,  sandpaper 
lightly  over  the  body  to  remove  any  grit  which  may 
be  left  on,  and  to  clean  out  around  the  irons  and 
panels,  also  to  sand  off  the  irons  which  you  have  not 
rubbed.  Dust  and  wipe  well,  and  when  ready,  put 
on  a coat  of  drop  black,  ground  in  japan.  In  mix- 
ing your  drop  black,  stir  it  before  you  add  any  turps, 
then  add  a little  turps,  and  stir  again  until  it  is 
beaten  to  a smooth,  soft  paste;  then  add  sufficient 
turps  to  make  a workable  paint,  thin  enough  to  go 
on  easily  with  a camel  hair  brush,  which  for  body 
work  on  buggies  should  be  not  less  than  one  and  one- 


136 


Practical  House  Painte*. 


half  inches  wide  and  double  thick.  Painters  disa- 
gree as  to  the  use  of  oil  in  this  coat.  I like  to  use  a 
very  little  good  raw  oil,  say  a teaspoonful  to  a pint 
of  color.  It  is  a good  idea  to  keep  a brush  on  pur- 
pose to  coat  the  inside  of  the  body,  because  it  is  not 
usually  made  as  smooth  as  the  outside.  Some  prac- 
tice putting  on  the  color  coat  in  the  morning  and  the 
color  varnish  towards  evening,  but  I prefer  a longer 
time,  say  twenty-four  hours  at  least,  and  more,  too, 
especially  when  I use  a little  oil  in  the  color  coat. 
Eub  the  color  with  curled  hair  or  hair  cloth,  dust  well, 
and  put  on  your  color  varnish;  some  say  with  a 
bristle  varnish  brush,  but  I prefer  to  mix  it  so  I can 
use  a camel  hair  brush.  For  this  coat  mix  drop 
black  to  a workable  paint  with  equal  parts  of  turps 
and  good  body  varnish.  When  this  coat  is  dry,  give 
the  body  a coat  of  good  rubbing  varnish,  using  a fine 
bristle  varnish  brush.  Flow  on  a free  coat,  lay  off 
to  right  and  left,  and  finish  with  up  and  down  strokes 
across  the  work.  Never  put  a full  brush  at  the  lower 
edge  of  the  body,  because  in  that  case,  you  will  be 
apt  to  get  a fat  edge.  Watch  for  sags  or  runs,  which 
you  can  brush  out,  if  discovered  before  the  varnish 
sets.  If  a sag  or  run  should  get  the  start  of  you  on 
this  coat,  and  you  see  it  after  the  varnish  begins  to 
set,  squeeze  the  varnish  out  of  your  brush,  wet  the 
point  of  it  in  turps,  and  carefully  work  out  the  sag  or 
run.  Now,  dust  off  the  running  parts,  and  put  on  a 
coat  of  color.  Some  say,  have  a little  more  oil  in  the 


Practical  House  Painter. 


137 


color  for  the  gear  than  for  the  body,  but  I would  not 
advise  the  use  of  more.  When  dry,  put  on  a coat 
of  color  varnish.  When  dry,  rub  down  with  hair  or 
hair  cloth,  and  your  gear  is  ready  to  stripe. 

To  paint  a wheel,  paint  one  spoke  at  a time,  paint 
both  sides  and  the  edge  next  to  you,  then  take  your 
brush  in  your  left  hand  and  paint  the  back  edge,  and 
so  on,  until  the  spokes  are  finished.  Next  paint  the 
hub,  then  the  outside  and  inside  of  the  felly,  then 
finish  the  gear,  being  careful  to  leave  no  laps.  Use 
only  fine  lines  for  striping  a buggy.  On  the  springs, 
bars,  spoke  faces,  hubs  and  tongue  is  all  the  striping 
needed.  Orange  chrome,  red,  gold,  bronze  and  light 
green,  all  harmonize  with  black,  and  either  may  be 
used  for  striping  a black  rig.  When  ready  to  var- 
nish, set  your  gear  on  trestles.  Varnish  the  wheel 
with  a fine  bristle  varnish  brush,  and  flow  on  a full 
coat.  When  done  with  a wheel,  set  it  running  on 
the  spindle,  and  commence  the  next,  and  start  it  off 
again  two  or  three  times,  while  working  at  the  next 
wheel,  and  so  on  with  all  the  wheels ; by  this  method 
you  may  avoid  runs,  and  be  able  to  flow  on  a fuller 
coat  than  you  otherwise  could.  For  a finer  job,  give 
the  gear  a coat  or  two  of  clear  rubbing  varnish,  and 
rub  each  coat  down  with  curled  hair  or  hair  cloth. 
For  a cheap  job,  rub  down  the  body  with  hair  cloth, 
but  for  a finer  one,  rub  it  out  with  finely  powdered 
pumice  stone  in  water.  For  this  method,  you  will 
need  a pail  of  clear  water,  some  finely  powdered 


138 


Practical  House  Painter. 


pumice  stone  and  a felt  pad.  The  object  of  this 
work  is  to  take  the  gloss  off  the  rubbing  varnish,  and 
leave  a smooth  coat  for  the  finishing  varnish.  The 
particular  knack  is  to  rub  just  enough,  and  then 
stop;  a little  too  much  will  cut  through,  and  spoil 
the  job;  and  not  enough  will  not  give  you  the  best 
possible  foundation  for  your  finishing  coat  of  varnish. 
Keep  the  work  washed  off  as  you  go,  so  you  can  see 
defective  places,  and  rub  them  out.  When  done  rub- 
bing, the  next  thing  is  to  wash  the  body  perfectly 
free  from  grit.  Your  water  brush  comes  in  play  here 
to  wash  around  irons,  etc.,  where  the  pumice  might 
lodge ; then  with  a pail  of  clear  water,  rinse  the  body 
and  wipe  dry  with  a chamois  skin.  Right  here  is  a 
good  time  to  give  the  inside  of  the  body  a coat  of  color 
varnish,  and  to  put  on  your  transfers,  if  you  use 
any.  Some  painters  use  a barrel  for  a body  stand, 
but  one  made  on  purpose,  of  boards,  is  better.  You 
want  to  look  out  for  dust  in  every  stage  of  the  work, 
but  right  here  you  must  be  especially  careful,  be- 
cause you  are  about  to  put  on.  the  finishing  coat, 
which  can  neither  be  sandpapered  nor  rubbed  down. 
You  will  learn  from  experience,  if  not  before,  that 
you  cannot  rely  altogether  upon  the  dust  brush  to 
free  your  work  from  dust  and  specks.  A large  soft 
dry  chamois  kept  for  the  purpose,  and  never  wet,  can 
be  used  to  advantage  to  wipe  off  the  dust  left  by  the 
brush.  A hand  bellows  is  very  effective  in  taking 
dust  out  of  corners  where  the  brush  or  wiper  cannot 


Practical  House  Painter. 


m 


be  worked.  When  you  Have  done  all  you  can  witH 
the  brush  and  wiper,  rub  the  work  over  with  your 
hand  and  the  sensitive  nerves  of  your  fingers  will  de- 
tect any  specks  which  may  still  adhere  to  the  surface. 
Some  other  essentials  to  a good  job  of  varnishing  are 
a clean  room,  free  as  possible  from  dust,  clean 
brushes,  and  cups,  and  the  person  of  the  varnisher 
so  dressed  that  he  will  not  shed  material  for  specks. 
Have  one  cup  to  hold  your  varnish  and  another  to 
wipe  your  brush  in.  Use  good  varnish  and  never  try 
to  varnish  a body  with  the  temperature  below  70  de- 
grees F.  Have  a quill  sharpened  to  a point  to  pick 
out  any  specks  which  you  may  discover  on  your  work, 
because  it  requires  very  favorable  conditions,  and  a 
mighty  slick  workman  to  prepare  and  varnish  a body, 
and  not  have  it  show  at  least  a specie  or  two . Use  a 
fine  chiseled  bristle  brush  and  know  that  it  is  abso- 
lutely free  from  specks  before  you  commence.  How, 
when  you  are  ready,  don't  be  timid  or  try  to  see  how 
far  you  can  make  your  varnish  go.  Keep  in  mind 
from  the  start  that  the  nearer  level — that  is,  a uni- 
form thickness — you  can  have  your  coat  of  varnish  the 
less  liable  it  will  be  to  sag  or  run.  Put  on  your  varnish 
with  a full  brush,  laying  it  on  right  and  left,  and 
brush  as  level  as  you  can,  then  finish  with  up  and 
down  strokes,  being  careful  to  chisel  off  the  surplus 
at  the  lower  corner  to  avoid  a flat  edge.  Note — A 
friend  of  mine,  after  laying  on  his  varnish  right  and 
left,  finished  with  diagonal  strokes  across  the  surface 


140 


Practical  House  Painter. 


at  an  angle  of  45  degrees,  then  crossed  it  again  at  the 
same  angle  in  an  opposite  direction.  He  had  uni- 
form good  success. 

For  an  extra  fine  job,  give  the  work  more  coats  of 
rubbing  varnish,  and  rub  each  coat  with  curled  hair, 
or  hair  cloth;  or  you  may  knife  on  a coat  of  putty 
made  of  keg  lead  and  equal  parts  of  turps  and  japan; 
rub  it  well  in  with  the  flat  blade  of  the  knife,  and 
when  it  sets  or  flats,  scrape  off  all  surplus.  Sand- 
paper when  dry.  This  may  go  on  in  the  place  of 
third  lead.  You  may,  when  the  job  requires  it,  knife 
on  a coat  of  hard  putty,  work  it  down  smooth,  let  it 
dry  and  cut  down  with  sandpaper. 

OLD  WORK. 

There  are  so  many  degrees  of  badness  in  repair 
work,  that  it  is  not  possible  to  cover  the  entire  ground 
in  a work  of  this  kind.  They  run  all  the  way  from 
the  touch  up  and  varnish  job,  to  the  cracked,  scaled 
and  almost  paintless  old  rigs.  For  a touch  up  and 
varnish  job,  at  least  one  which  is  in  decent  shape  for 
such  work,  wash  the  body,  give  it  a rubbing  down 
with  fine  powdered  pumice  stone,  clean  off  and  care- 
fully putty  cracks,  dents,  etc.,  if  any;  then  touch  up 
With  color,  using  a small  earners  hair  pencil,  and 
cover  only  where  necessary.  When  dry,  give  a full 
coat  of  body  varnish.  For  a better  job,  give  the  body  a 
coat  of  black  rubbing  varnish  (provided  the  body  is 
black),  then  finish  with  a good  coat  of  wearing  body. 
The  gear  may  be  treated  the  same  as  the  body  if  in 


Practical  House  Painter. 


141 


like  condition,  but  if  the  felloes  are  worn  bare,  lead 
them  up  and  color  as  you  would  new  work,  then 
touch  up  the  balance  and  varnish. 

The  great  plague  of  the  paint  shop  is  cracked  work, 
which  is  otherwise  solid.  Where  the  varnish  is  hard 
but  peeling,  take  it  off  with  ammonia;  to  do  this, 
take  a side  of  the  body  at  a time,  pour  out  some  am- 
monia in  a cup,  and  put  it  on  with  a clean  brush 
kept  for  the  purpose.  Keep  the  side  wet,  until  you 
can  slice  off  the  varnish  with  a putty  knife;  if  it 
fails  to  come  off,  you  must  keep  it  wet  longer.  If 
the  varnish  is  dead  and  soft,  sandpaper  down  to  a 
solid  foundation,  then  if  cracks  show  sheet  up  with 
quick  hard  putty  made  soft  enough  to  put  on  with 
a brush,  and  scrape  off  with  a knife  when  set.  When 
dry,  sandpaper  and  if  the  cracks  are  not  full,  give  it 
a second  application  of  putty  in  the  same  way.  Then 
for  a cheap  job  give  it  a coat  of  color  varnish,  a coat 
of  rubbing  and  a coat  of  body  varnish. 

If  you  are  to  do  a fine  job,  and  can  get  pay  for  it, 
and  you  find  the  body  cracked,  burn  off  the  old  paint, 
and  commence  at  the  foundation  as  in  new  work.  For 
a cheap  job,  lead  up  the  bare  places  on  the  gear  and 
wheels,  give  a coat  of  color  and  a coat  of  color  varnish 
and  finish  with  heavy  gear  varnish.  For  a fine  job, 
if  the  old  paint  is  cracked  or  scaled,  take  it  off  and 
work  up  from  the  wood  as  on  a new  job. 


142  Practical  House  Painter. 

HOUGH  STUFF. 

1.  To  make  one  coat  per  day  rough  stuff,  take 
three  pounds  of  Reno's  filler  and  one  pound  of  keg 
lead.  Mix  to  stiff  paste  with  equal  parts  of  rubbing 
varnish,  and  first  class  japan,  thin  with  turps.  Some 
painters  add  a little  raw  oil.  Grind  the  filler  fine. 

2.  French  yellow  ochre  dry,  5 pounds;  keg  lead 
pounds.  Mix  to  stiff  paste  with  equal  parts  gold 

size,  or  best  brown  japan  and  rubbing  varnish;  thin 
with  turps  and  add  a gill  of  raw  oil.  Grind  fine . 

CLEANING  PHAETON  CUSHIONS. 

This  old  phaeton  cushion  is  too  dusty  for  any  use, 
did  you  say  ? I agree  with  you ; the  old  cloth-covered 
phaeton  cushion  is  one  of  the  unmitigated  nuisances 
which  we  are  often  compelled  to  tolerate  in  the  paint 
shop.  When  such  a cushion  is  once  filled  with  dust 
its  capacity  for  “shedding”  seems  to  be  unlimited. 
The  more  you  beat  it  and  the  longer  you  brush  it,  the 
more  dust  comes  to  the  surface.  You  can  take  off  a 
buggy  cushion  and  relegate  it  to  the  backroom,  but 
the  genius  who  invented  that  complicated  vehicle 
called  a phaeton,  nailed  the  cushions  fast  to  the 
body,  and  we  must  take  them  along  with  the  job, 
dust  and  all,  from  the  cleaning  floor  to  the  varnish 
room. 

When  I am  so  unfortunate  as  to  have  an  old  phae- 
ton brought  to  my  shop,  about  the  first  thing  I do 
after  cleaning  it  up  is  to  go  for  the  cushions  with 


Practical  House  Painter.  143 

the  sprinkler  and  wet  them  down  with  clean  water, 
repeating  the  operation  as  often  as  may  be  necessary 
to  keep  in  the  dust. 

Spoil  the  cushions?  No!  When  you  run  the  rig 
out  of  the  shop  the  owner  wili  wonder  what  you 
have  done  to  his  cushions  to  make  them  look  so 
bright.  The  same  operation  works  well  on  an  old 
cloth-lined  top.  After  you  have  brushed  all  you 
think  you  can  afford  to,  and  the  dust  keeps  coming 
to  the  front,  turn  the  top  bottom  side  up  and  give 
it  a shower  from  the  sprinkler,  and  I will  guarantee 
the  dust  to  lie  still  long  enough  for  you  to  dress 
the  top  and  paint  the  bows.  Dust  is  the  natural 
enemy  of  the  paint  shop,  and  water  is  one  of  our 
best  weapons  to  fight  it  with. 

MIXING  QUICK  COLOR. 

A quick  drying  color  can  be  slowed  up  and  made 
to  dry  to  any  required  time  without  injuring  it, 
while  if  ground  in  a slow  drying  preparation,  it  can- 
not possibly  be  quickened  without  injuring  more  or 
less  the  working  and  covering  properties.  The  work- 
ing is  certainly  important,  and  the  covering  more  so. 
The  covering  property  should  be  Strong,  because  the 
fewer  coats  of  color  on  a job  the  better.  Thus  a 
quick  dryer  saves  both  labor  and  time. 

Japan  colors  are  best  when  ground  stiff,  or  with 
barely  enough  liquid  to  bind  them  firmly,  because 
after  being  reduced  to  thinness  with  turpentine  alone 
they  will  cling  to  the  surface  and  will  not  smut. 


144 


Practical  House  Painter. 


The  color  will  then  have  its  greatest  covering  power. 
Now,  by  the  addition  of  sufficient  pure  raw  oil  to 
give  the  best  working  property,  and  being  also  made 
to  dry  flat,  the  color  is  as  near  perfection  as  pos- 
sible, and  the  further  addition  of  anything  weakens 
the  covering  power.  When  an  excess  of  japan  is 
used  in  grinding,  the  color  is  thin,  there  being  less 
pigment  to  the  pound;  and  it  is  of  less  value  to  the 
consumer,  while  it  affords  more  profit  to  the  manu- 
facturer than  when  prepared  as  it  should  be. 

BLACK  VARNISH  FOR  GASOLINE  STOVES,  ETC. 

Asphaltum  two  pounds,  boiled  linseed  oil  one  pint, 
turpentine  two  quarts.  Melt  the  asphaltum  in  an 
iron  pot,  heat  the  oil,  and  add  it  to  the  asphaltum 
while  hot.  Stir  well.  When  partly  cool,  add  the 
turpentine  and  four  ounces  of  good  japan. 

BLACK  STENCIL  INK. 

Shellac  two  ounces,  borax  two  ounces,  soft  water 
twenty  ounces,  gum  arabic  two  ounces,  lampblack 
and  indigo  sufficient.  Boil  the  shellac  and  borax  in 
the  water  until  dissolved,  then  add  the  gum  arabic ; 
dissolve  and  take  the  mixture  from  the  fire;  when 
cold,  add  enough  lampblack  to  give  it  color  and 
proper  consistency,  and  a little  powdered  indigo. 
Keep  in  glass  or  earthenware  vessels. 

BRONZE  FOR  BRIGHT  METALS. 

Red  aniline  (fuscine)  ten  parts,  purple  aniline 
five  parts,  alcohol  95  per  cent,  one  hundred  parts, 


Practical  House  Painter. 


145 


benzoic  acid  five  parts.  Add  the  anilines  to  the 
alcohol,  and  dissolve  by  placing  the  vessel  in  a sand 
or  water  bath.  As  soon  as  dissolved,  add  the  benzoic 
acid  and  boil  for  five  or  ten  minutes,  or  until  the 
greenish  color  of  the  mixture  is  turned  to  a brilliant 
light  bronze;  spread  with  a brush  on  bright  metal. 

VARNISH  TO  FIX  PENCIL  DRAWINGS. 

Gum  mastic  three  ounces,  alcohol  one  pint.  Dis- 
solve and  apply  with  a brush. 

RUST  SPOTS  ON  MARBLE. 

Apply  a mixture  of  1 part  nitric  acid  and  25  parts 
of  water,  then  rinse  with  3 parts  water  and  1 part 
ammonia. 

WHITEWASH  TO  SOFTEN. 

To  soften  old  whitewash  which  you  wish  to  take 
off,  wet  it  thoroughly  with  a wash  made  of  1 pound 
of  potash,  dissolved  in  10  quarts  of  water. 

WATER  GLASS  FOR  FLOORS. 

Clean  the  floor,  fill  cracks  with  water  glass  cement 
made  of  water  glass  and  whiting,  then  put  on  a 
coat  of  water  glass,  to  be  followed  by  second  coat; 
when  dry  rub  the  last  coat  with  pumice  stone  and 
oil. 

TO  FINISH  REDWOOD. 

Take  one  quart  of  spirits  turpentine;  add  one 
pound  of  corn  starch;  quarter  of  a pound  burnt 


146 


Practical  House  Painter. 


sienna;  one  tablespoonful  raw  linseed  oil  and  one 
tablespoonful  brown  japan.  Mix  thoroughly,  apply 
with  the  brush,  let  it  stand,  say,  fifteen  minutes,  rub 
off  all  you  can  with  fine  shavings  or  a soft  rag,  let 
it  stand  at  least  twenty-four  hours  that  it  may  sink 
into  and  harden  the  fibers  of  the  wood;  afterward 
apply  two  coats  of  white  shellac,  rub  down  well  with 
fine  flint  paper,  then  put  on  from  two  to  five  coats 
best  polishing  varnish;  after  it  is  well  dried  rub  with 
water  and  pumice  stone  ground  very  fine;  stand  a 
day  to  dry ; after  being  washed  clean  with  a chamois 
rub  with  water  and  rotten  stone;  dry;  wash  as  be- 
fore clean,  and  rub  with  olive  oil  until  dry.  Some 
use  cork  for  sandpapering  and  polishing,  but  a 
smooth  block  of  hardwood  like  maple  is  better. 
When  treated  in  this  way,  redwood  will  be  found  the 
peer  of  any  wood  for  real  beauty  and  life  as  a house 
trim  or  finish. 

MARKING  INK. 

Asphaltum,  dissolved  in  turpentine  to  a thin  fluid, 
will  give  you  an  excellent  marking  ink  for  all  pur- 
poses; dries  quickly,  does  not  spread,  and  is  nearly 
indestructible. 

FORMULAS  FOR  MIXING  COLORS.  (SELECTED.) 

It  is  impossible  to  give  infallible  recipes  for  mix- 
ing colors,  on  acount  of  the  difference  in  the  tone 
and  color  strength  of  pigments,  both  dry  and  in  oil, 
many  samples  having  as  high  as  fifty  per  cent,  of 


Practical  House  Painter. 


147 


barytes  or  other  white  makewright  material,  which 
not  only  lessens  the  color  strength  of  the  mixture  in 
proportion  to  their  volume,  but  weakens  the  color, 
in  a small  measure,  by  their  presence  as  white  ma- 
terial. Hence,  color  formulas  are  made  subject  to 
modification,  not  only  to  please  the  taste  of  the 
mixer,  but  on  account  of  the  presence  of  poor,  weak 
and  adulterated  pigments. 

The  writer  has  selected  a few  formulas  from 
which  the  learner  may  gain  some  knowledge  of 
colors,  which  he  can  improve  upon  by  experiment. 

Plumb. — White  lead,  2 parts*;  Indian  red,  1 part; 
ultramarine  blue,  1 part.  If  too  dark,  add  more 
white  lead.  (Outside.) 

Brick . — Yellow  ochre,  2 parts;  Venetian  red,  1 
part;  white  lead,  1 part.  If  too  dark,  add  more 
ochre.  Don’t  depend  upon  the  common  ochre  of  the 
stores.  It  has  but  little  tinting  power.  Use  French 
ochre  ground  in  oil.  (Outside.) 

Bronze  Green.— Chrome  green,  5 parts;  lamp- 
black, 1 part;  burnt  umber,  1 part.  If  too  dark, 
use  more  green.  (Outside.) 

Jonquil  Yellow. — White  lead  tinted  with  chrome 
yellow  and  vermilion. 

'Lead  Color . — White  Lead,  16  parts ; ultramarine 
blue,  1 part;  lampblack,  2 parts.  (Outside.) 

Light  Buff.- — White  lead  tinted  with  yellow  ochre. 
(Outside.) 


*Note. — Part  means  in  bulk/ not  by  weight. 


148 


Practical  House  Painter. 


Lemon.— Lemon  chrome  yellow,  5 parts;  white 
lead,  2 parts.  (Outside.) 

Brown. — Indian  red,  3 parts ; lamp  black,  2 parts ; 
yellow  ochre,  1 part.  If  too  dark,  use  more  ochre  or 
less  black.  (Outside.) 

Chestnut. — Venetian  red,  2 parts;  lamp  black,  1 
part;  medium  chrome  yellow,  4 parts.  (Outside.) 

Lilac. — Light  Indian  red,  3 parts;  white  lead,  3 
parts;  ultramarine  blue,  1 part. 

Purple. — Light  Indian  red,  4 parts;  white  lead,  3 
parts;  ultramarine  blue,  2 parts. 

London  Smoke. — Burnt  umber,  2 parts;  white 
lead,  1 part;  Venetian  red,  1 part. 

Brown. — Venetian  red,  3 parts;  drop  black,  2 
parts;  chrome  yellow,  1 part.  (Outside.) 

French  Gray. — White,  tinted  with  ivory  or  drop 
black.  (Outside.) 

Olive  Yellow. — Burnt  umber,  3 parts;  lemon 
chrome  yellow,  1 part.  For  lighter  shade,  add  more 
yellow. 

Pearl. — White  lead,  6 parts;  Venetian  red,  2 
parts;  lamp  black,  1 part.  If  too  dark,  add  more 
lead.  (Outside.) 

Olive. — Lemon  chrome  yellow,. -10  parts;  ultra- 
marine blue,  1 part ; light  Indian  red,  1 part. 

Cream  Color. — White  lead,  8 parts;  French  yel- 
low ochre  in  oil,  2 parts;  Venetian  red,  1 part.  (Out- 
side.) 

Tan. — Burnt  sienna,  5 parts;  medium  chrome 


Practical  House  Painter. 


149 


yellow,  2 parts ; raw  umber,  1 part.  If  too  red,  add 
more  raw  umber. 

Pea  Green. — WJhite  lead,  5 parts;  chrome  green, 
1 part.  Vary  the  proportions  to  suit. 

Drab. — White  lead,  10  parts;  burnt  umber,  1 
part.  Vary  to  suit. 

Canary . — White  lead,  6 parts ; lemon  chrome  yel- 
low, 2 parts,  or  less,  as  you  like  it.  (Outside.) 

Fawn. — White  lead,  8 parts;  chrome  yellow,  1 
part;  Indian  red,  1 part;  burnt  umber,  1 part.  (Out- 
side.) 

Grass  Green. — Lemon  chrome  yellow,  3 parts; 
Prussian  blue,  1 part. 

Peach  Blossom. — White  lead,  1 part ; light  Indian 
red,  1 part ; ultramarine  blue,  1 part ; lemon  chrome 
yellow,  1 part. 

Light  Gray. — White  lead,  10  parts;  ultramarine 
blue,  1 part;  lampblack,  1 part.  Make  lighter  or 
darker  by  using  more  or  less  white  lead,  as  the  case 
may  require. 

Purple  Brown . — Dark  Indian  red,  4 parts ; ultra- 
marine  blue,  1 part;  lampblack,  1 part.  Light  up 
with  white  lead  to  fancy.  If  too  purple,  use  less 
blue;  if  too  red,  use  more  black.  (Outside.) 

Leather  Brown. — Venetian  red,  2 parts;  yellow 
ochre,  4 parts;  lampblack,  1 part;  white  lead,  2 
parts  or  more,  to  suit.  If  too  dark,  use  less  black. 
(Outside.) 


150 


Practical  House  Painter. 


Dregs  of  Wine. — Tuscan  red  with  a little  lamp- 
black and  white  lead. 

Leaf  Bud.— Equal  parts  white  lead,  orange  chrome 
and  chrome  green.  If  too  dark,  add  more  lead.  (In- 
side only.) 

Coral  Pink. — Vermilion  (English),  5 parts;  white 
lead,  2 parts;  chrome  yellow,  1 part.  (Inside.) 
Maroon. — Tuscan  red,  3 parts;  ultramarine  blue, 

1 part.  If  too  red,  add  more  blue. 

Myrtle . — Dark  chrome  green,  3 parts ; ultramarine 
blue,  1 part.  Light  up  with  white  lead. 

Stone. — White  lead,  5 parts;  French  yellow  ochre, 

2 parts ; burnt  umber,  1 part.  Tint  to  desired 
shade  with  raw  umber;  a very  little  will  do.  (Out- 
side.) 

Snuff. — Medium  chrome  yellow,  4 parts;  Vandyke 
brown,  2 parts. 

Rose. — White  lead,  5 parts;  carmine,  2 parts. 
(Inside  only.) 

Portland  Stone. — Raw  umber,  3 parts;  yellow 
ochre,  3 parts;  white  lead,  1 part.  (Outside.) 

Ashes  of  Roses.— White,  lightly  tinted  with  black, 
blue  and  lake.  ( Inside  only. ) 

' Silver  Gray.*-*- Tint  white  lead  with  lampblack  and 
indigo.  : : : . 

: Fine  Chocolate .- — Tint  the  best  burnt  umber  with 
Munich  lake.  (Inside  only.) 

Fine  Maroon.— Tint  any  deep  red  lake  with  a lit- 
tle orange  chrome  yellow. 


Practical  House  Painter. 


151 


Vienna  Smoke . — Tint  fine  burnt  umber  with  lem- 
on chrome  yellow  and  a little  Venetian  red. 

Quaker  Green. — Chrome  green,  3 parts ; lamp- 
black, 1 part;  Venetian  red,  1 part;  medium  chrome 
yellow,  1 part. 

Chamoline. — Lemon  yellow,  1 part;  raw  sienna, 
3 parts;  white  lead,  5 parts. 

Clay  Drab. — White  lead,  raw  sienna,  raw  umber, 
equal  parts.  Tint  with  chrome  green. 

Pearl. — White  lead,  tinted  with  ultramarine  blue 
and  lampblack. 

Copper. — Medium  chrome  yellow,  2 parts;  Vene- 
tian red,  1 part;  drop  black,  1 part. 

Buttercup. — White  lead  tinted  with  lemon  chrome 
yellow. 

Flesh. — White  lead,  8 parts;  light  Venetian  red, 
1 part;  orange  chrome,  2 parts. 

Olive  Brown.- — Lemon  chrome  yellow,  1 part; 
burnt  umber,  3 parts. 

Deep  Buff. — White  lead  tinted  with  yellow  ochre 
and  a little  Venetian  red.  (Outside.) 

SOME  EXPENSIVE  COLORS. 

Claret. — Carmine,  2 parts;  ultramarine  blue,  1 
part. 

Carnation  Red. — Carmine  lake,  3 parts;  white 
lead,  1 part. 

Chocolate. — Fine  burnt  umber,  5 parts;  carmine 
or  lake,  1 part. 


152 


Practical  House  Painter. 


French  Red. — Indian  red  and  English  vermilion, 
equal  parts,  glazed  with  carmine. 

Rose. — White  lead,  5 parts ; carmine,  2 parts. 

Yellow  Lake. — Burnt  umber  and  white  lead,  equal 
parts;  tint  with  chrome  yellow  and  lake. 

SUGGESTIONS  FOE  TINTS  AND  COLOES. 

Delicate  Flesh  Tints , white  predominating. — 1st, 
white  and  light  red;  2nd,  white,  Naples  yellow,  ver- 
milion; 3rd,  white,  vermilion  and  light  red. 

Gray  and  Half  Tints , white  predominating. — 1st, 
white,  vermilion  and  black;  2nd,  white  and  terre 
verte;  3rd,  white,  black,  Indian  red  and  raw  umber. 

Deep  Shades , color  predominating. — 1st,  light  red 
and  raw  umber;  2nd,  Indian  red,  lake  and  black. 

Carnations. — 1st,  white  and  Indian  red ; 2nd, 
white  and  rose  madder;  3rd,  white  and  lake;  4th, 
white  and  Naples  yellow. 

Carnations , color  predominating. — 1st,  rose  mad- 
der and  white;  2nd,  Indian  red,  rose  madder  and 
white. 

Green  Tints. — 1st,  white  and  ultramarine  blue, 
with  any  yellow;  2nd,  white  and  terre  verte;  add  a 
little  raw  umber. 

Gray  Tints. — 1st,  ultramarine  blue,  light  red  and 
white;  2nd,  Indian  red  lake,  black  and  white. 

Pearly  White,  white  predominating. — 1st,  white. 


Practical  House  Painter. 


153 


vermilion  and  black;  2nd,  white,  vermilion  and 
black;  3rd,  white  and  black. 

Gray. — White,  Venetian  red  and  black. 

Yellow. — Yellow  ochre  and  white. 

Olive. — Yellow  ochre,  terre  verte  and  umber. 

Sky. — French  blue  and  white- 


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